Hello everyone! There were some good guesses for Bear, but I loosely based her off of Michonne from The Walking Dead.
Also WARNING for this chapter: some sexual content so head's up.
Max slowly walked up the stairs to her apartment; Rocky followed even slower behind her. They had just finished a 48 hour shift in Command, and they were exhausted.
It'd been a little over a week since Max had gone to visit OC and had come back to find Alec on the floor. Her heart had dropped seeing him like that, and she had refused to really leave his side for a couple of days. Alec had put his foot down though, and said they both couldn't be out of commission; TC needed one of them around to take care of any crisis that popped up.
He'd promised to rest up, and he had actually kept his promise. She knew he wanted to be ready for their meet with the mayor. Their meet was tomorrow and Alec was ready thanks to his rest.
Max was beyond relieved that he would be by her side tomorrow. If things took a turn for the worse, he would keep a cool head and he'd have her back no matter what.
"See ya in the mornin', Boss," Rocky said, his voice tired.
"Goodnight Rocky," Max replied, turning to her door as Rocky turned to his.
Max walked in and kicked off her shoes. She looked around the dark living room and immediately spotted Bear sitting on the sofa. She wasn't surprised; Bear had been here every day when Max couldn't be around. She definitely felt better having Bear there, but she was surprised that Alec allowed it.
Max walked further into the room, and then asked, "He know you're here tonight?"
Bear nodded and slowly got to her feet. "He's asleep now."
"Did he have any nightmares yet?" Max asked quickly. She knew he tried to hide it, and he did a really good job most of the time, but she'd gotten better at figuring it out.
He'd let slip that the nightmares had stayed away the first time she'd slept with him, so she'd stayed with him the next night too and nothing happened. But the night after that, she hadn't been tired and had done some work in the living room while he slept.
She had heard the bed creak a few times, like he was tossing and turning in his sleep. She had gotten up to check on him and found him tangled in the sheets, covered in sweat, and his muscles were so tense she thought he had probably been sore the next day.
She hadn't been able to wake him up and break him out of his nightmare so she had tried something else. She had climbed onto the bed with him and slowly started untangling him from the sheets. She'd trailed her fingers through his slightly damp hair until he finally started to relax. She went back to the living room and grabbed her work, and then halfway sat up next to him. She leaned against the headboard with her leg pressed against his arm so he knew she was there.
He had ended up turning and snuggling against her. He used her stomach as a pillow and she rested her hand at the back of his head, her fingers threaded through his hair.
It'd been so funny seeing him wake up and realize she was with him. He'd looked so surprised, but he didn't pull away from her. But he also wouldn't tell her what his nightmare had been about.
He had turned his face against her stomach and just shook his head in refusal. She knew they had something to do with Manticore, but she had no idea what.
"Not so far," Bear answered her earlier question. "But it's early…"
"Thanks for staying," Max said sincerely.
"I'm more than happy to do it," Bear answered.
"You better go get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow," Max said after a moment.
Bear nodded, "You get some sleep too, ok?"
"I will," Max reassured as Bear left the apartment.
Max started back to Alec's room; she was going to check on him really quick, and then try to get some sleep herself. She didn't really think she would though. She would be keeping an ear out just in case Alec had a nightmare, and probably wouldn't sleep much.
Max cracked open the door and peeked inside. Alec was lying on his stomach with his face pressed against his pillow. The covers were pulled to about halfway up his bare back. Max knew almost instantly that he wasn't asleep; his breathing was too shallow and the muscles in his back looked too tense.
"You're supposed to be asleep already," Max said after Alec didn't make any move to reveal he was awake.
"You were supposed to get back two hours ago," Alec shot back, his voice muffled against his pillow.
"I got held up…"
Alec sighed, and then pushed himself up and twisted so he was sitting up and facing her. "Y'know, you need to get some sleep too, so you aren't moody tomorrow…"
Max scowled at being called moody, but only said, "I was just about to go to bed."
Alec patted the spot next to him, silently telling her to join him. She glared at him even though she'd been sleeping with him off and on the past week.
"Max, c'mon, you know you won't get any sleep otherwise. You'll just lay there and listen just in case, so you might as well stay here."
Max thought about it for a second, and then decided he was right. She walked over and climbed onto the bed where she was starting to consider as her spot.
She looked over at him, expecting him to somehow make contact with her, but he just lay down again with his back to her. He'd never purposefully crossed the invisible line of the bed while they slept together. She had always been the one to cross the line; resting her head on his chest or wrapping her arm around his waist, but he hadn't ever consciously done those things. He'd done them while he was either asleep or mostly asleep, but he'd never tried to push her too far. He always let her make the move if she wanted to while they were in bed together.
That was the opposite of how she would have thought he would behave. She had thought he'd be very touchy and she wouldn't ever want to be near him, but he was a perfect gentleman. Almost too much of a gentleman in her opinion.
Max tried to ignore him for now, and lay down with her back to him. She tried to sleep for a while, but she had gotten used to the warmth of his skin against hers and his heart beating against her ear. Hearing him breathe and feeling the ridges of his muscles beneath her fingers.
She huffed, and then turned back towards him. She pulled on his shoulder until he lay on his back and she fit herself against him; her head on his chest and her arm across his waist. He didn't argue with her, in fact, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she reveled in his warmth.
She sighed in contentment; it was amazing how perfectly they seemed to fit together. Alec seemed to be more comfortable now too. His breathing almost instantly slowed to the rhythm it was when he slept and his muscles were completely relaxed.
Max listened to his heart beat in his chest and slowly dropped off to sleep.
An annoyingly loud beeping was what woke Max up in the morning. It took her a minute to figure out it was an alarm clock and by the time she figured it out, Alec was already awake.
He turned towards her and she was suddenly enveloped in his warmth, pressed against his chest with both of his arms around her. He stretched a little bit, and then the beeping suddenly stopped. He must have been able to reach the alarm clock to turn it off.
He dropped onto his back again, and Max instantly felt the loss of his warmth. She looked up at him and met his bright green eyes looking back at her.
"You sleep ok?" Alec asked, his voice deeper with sleep. She could feel his chest rumble as he spoke and she couldn't stop her small smile.
"Yeah. You?" Max asked quietly. She hadn't woken up in the middle of the night, so she hoped he didn't have a nightmare instead of her just missing it.
Alec smiled though and said, "Slept through the whole night." It was quiet for a minute and Max just relaxed back against Alec, but he seemed tense for some reason. "Max…" Alec started out hesitantly. He'd never really sounded hesitant before and his tone drew her gaze back to him. "…I need to tell you something…"
His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest and when she looked at him, he would look at her for a moment, and then his gaze would land somewhere else. He was nervous, she suddenly realized. He sat up a little and brought her up with him.
"I know we only have a fake relationship, but I…um, I really…" Alec ran his free hand through his hair, and then rubbed the back of his neck where his barcode was. "I, um…I actually like…"
Max stopped him suddenly by pressing her lips against his. She really hoped she wasn't wrong; she thought he was going to say he liked her which was enough for her. He held her closer with the arm that was around her shoulders and put his other hand against her neck and jaw to angle her better.
She turned a little so she could wrap her legs around his waist and practically sat in his lap and brought one of her hands up to tangle in his short hair. She opened her mouth a little and he instantly deepened the kiss.
He slowly started to reach for the hem of her shirt, and then broke off their kiss for just a second so he could pull it completely off. He kissed her again as soon as the shirt was out of the way and now she was sitting in his lap in just a bra. They both still had pants on, but she didn't think it would stay that way for long.
Alec surprised her, and she was suddenly on her back with him over her. He met her lips again, but this time she took control of the kiss. He seemed a little surprised, but he smiled against her and let her take them wherever she wanted to go. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him to her heart's content.
He broke off their little make out session after a few minutes, but then started to trail kisses down her neck to her collarbone. He nipped her with his teeth just a little bit, but the sensation had her tangling her hand in his hair again and letting out a quiet sigh of pleasure. He smiled against her skin, knowing exactly how this was affecting her and she knew right then that he was going to tease her mercilessly.
He was holding himself up on his elbows, but he lowered himself just a little to press against her as he brushed light kisses across her collarbone so he could reach the other side. She took a deep breath and her breasts pressed against his chest for just a moment.
He lifted himself a little bit and she almost groaned in protest, but his mouth was against her skin again almost instantly. He moved to the middle of her chest, and then nipped a little at the bow in the center of her bra.
Alec's hand slowly moved under her as he kissed up the slope of her breast. She was breathing heavier now, but she wanted more. She didn't want his talented lips to leave her and she regretted not doing this sooner.
Alec skillfully unhooked her bra, but then he shot a quick glance up to make sure she was still ok with this. She looked back at him like 'what are you waiting for?' He smirked, and then started kissing her again.
He was just starting to slide off the straps of her bra when they heard a loud knock on their front door. Alec froze, but Max said breathlessly, "Ignore it…"
Alec looked up at her, and then abandoned his work. He gave her a lingering kiss on her lips, and then said quickly, "Can't. We're already late."
Max groaned in disbelief and muttered, "This can't be happening…"
"We can pick it up where we left off later," Alec promised. He got up before she could disagree and she glared at him.
"What are you doing?" Max asked when he tossed her shirt to her and started for the door.
"I've gotta take a cold shower," Alec said with a small smirk. "I'd say you could join me, but that would defeat the purpose…"
Max threw her shirt back at him, but he disappeared before the shirt was even halfway there. She flopped back on the bed and stayed there until she heard the shower turn on.
There was another knock on the door and Max groaned again. "Why did the meeting have to be today?" She muttered to herself in frustration.
She finally rolled out of bed and went to her room to pull on some fresh clothes. It only took her a minute, and then she went to the door to find Rocky and Bear both ready to go.
"What took you so long, Boss?" Rocky asked in amusement. Bear was standing beside Rocky with a knowing smile and Max narrowed her eyes at both of them.
"We overslept," Alec suddenly said from the hallway. He only had a towel around his waist and Max turned her glare to him, knowing that he was doing this to her on purpose. He winked at her, and then walked back to his room.
"Uh huh," Bear said with a smile, her tone clearly saying that she didn't believe that for a second.
"Would you like us to call the Mayor and reschedule so you guys can…finish?" Rocky asked with a smirk.
"I would say it was more continue, and then finish," Bear threw in.
"Oh, right," Rocky said, his eyebrows bouncing up and down.
"Enough," Max snarled.
"Hey, we wouldn't have heard anything if you two hadn't 'overslept'," Rocky defended.
"Everyone ready?" Alec asked happily as he walked back to them.
"Just waiting for you," Bear replied, still smiling.
"Well, I think we're ready," Alec said with a quick glance to Max.
She rolled her eyes at him, and then brushed by Rocky and Bear. "Let's go."
The Mayor was a short, balding man without an interesting bone in his body. Max couldn't remember anything about the man even though he'd been mayor for a while; she couldn't even remember the guy's name. Max was more concerned with Alec by her side than with the Mayor or his six security guys.
The Mayor had agreed to their terms; the meeting was just inside their gates and she had four people on her security detail. Alec, Rocky, Bear, and Carter were all there to keep her safe, but she was just ready for this meeting to be over. She had better things to do right now.
"Isn't Logan supposed to be here?" Alec leaned towards her to whisper in her ear. She and Alec were both sitting at the conference table across from the Mayor while Bear and Rocky stood slightly behind them and Carter stood to the side to keep an eye on the entire room.
Max frowned and looked around the room, but didn't see him. He was supposed to be there and it was weird that he wasn't. She hadn't even really thought about him until Alec brought him up, but she felt that she hadn't really missed him.
"I thought so…" Max said slowly. "He must have had something to do…" She shrugged and made the mistake of looking back at Alec. His green eyes met hers and she nearly got lost looking at him.
The Mayor suddenly cleared his throat and Max shook her head slightly and looked back at him. "I had thought Mr. Cale would be joining us, but apparently not," he said, his tone conveying his disapproval.
Max ignored him and jumped right in, "We need to talk about the fact that we're trapped here and can't leave without the possibility of getting killed."
The Mayor looked shocked that she'd just come right out with it, but he quickly schooled his features back into the unfazed politician. "The public does not feel safe with dangerous experiments running amuck. But this was set up as much to protect you as it was to protect them."
"How so!?" Max asked in disbelief. "We're living like animals in here because you people can't face the fact that your government created us and now you're afraid of us." Alec's hand suddenly rested against her knee to help keep her calm. She reached under the table and grabbed his hand with hers.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," the Mayor said easily. "Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement." Max narrowed her eyes, not trusting him, but she let him talk. "We could release some of you, as long as the majority agreed to…testing."
Max and Alec both stood up in outrage. Their movement made the Mayor's security guys pull their guns, and then before Max knew it her people were pointing guns at the Mayor. She and the Mayor were the only ones without guns, but what he had suggested was not happening. Max had half a mind to shoot the man herself for even suggesting it, but she knew that wouldn't be the right way to handle this.
"I mean no disrespect, we just feel that we could learn more about you and that would give you a place in this world," the Mayor tried to placate.
"This meeting is over," Max said simply.
The Mayor's eyes narrowed, but he eventually nodded and motioned for his men to leave. Max watched them go, but her people still didn't relax their guard, until Alec lowered his gun.
"Well, that was a bust," Alec muttered after a moment.
"No kidding," Max replied.
She turned from the door and faced Alec instead. He gave her a sad smile and she returned the smile until he suddenly went on alert.
"Get down!" Alec yelled.
A second later he was tackling her to the ground as something crashed through the window, and then exploded when it hit the hallway. They were thrown to the side at the force of the explosion, but Alec was shielding her from anything that could hurt her.
Max's ears were ringing, but she couldn't move since Alec was on top of her. It was completely silent in the room and Alec didn't loosen his grip on her. She was afraid that he'd been hurt, but she couldn't be sure until the dust and smoke settled and she could actually look at him.
Max waited a moment, and then slowly turned in Alec's arms to face him. He was looking back at her, concern clear in his eyes.
"You ok?" He asked softly when she turned to face him. She nodded and quickly ran her hands over him to see if he was hurt anywhere.
"Are you hurt?" Max asked quickly. She couldn't find any blood, but that didn't mean anything.
"I'm fine," Alec said, his tone clearly showing his amazement.
"Are you sure?" Max asked.
Alec scowled at her and said, "Yes, I'm sure."
She looked over his shoulder, but something was blocking her view of the rest of the room. "You think everyone else is ok?"
"Only one way to find out…" Alec replied, slowly sitting up. He got up to his knees so he could look over the desk, but effectively kept Max on the ground just in case there was still a threat. He was straddling her waist and she had to remind herself for a second that they had just been attacked and now wasn't a good time.
"Stay here," Alec commanded as he got to his feet. Max propped herself up on her elbows and rolled her eyes. She ignored him and got up anyway when he picked his way over the wrecked desk. "Max," Alec said on a sigh when he saw her following him. "I told you to stay there."
"Yeah, and I ignored you," Max replied with a challenge.
"Y'know, it's you they're gonna be after, which is why I wanted you to stay under cover," Alec said slowly.
"I need to make sure everyone's ok, so shut up and let's get to looking," Max replied.
Alec threw his head back in annoyance, but he didn't argue with her anymore. The room was hardly recognizable thanks to the explosion, and Alec was very slowly making his way through the wreckage. Max figured he was testing the floor before he took each step which was actually a good idea. It would not be fun to fall through to the next floor down.
A sudden cough had both of them snapping their attention in the direction it had come from. Rocky suddenly sat up, dumping a piece of the ceiling off of him, but he seemed to be ok. He was pushed to the side though after a moment, and then Bear appeared, glaring at him.
"Your job was to protect Max and my job was to protect Alec," Bear said in annoyance. "You tackling me to the ground prevented both of us from doing our jobs."
"I'm so sorry that I just saved your life," Rocky replied sarcastically. "Besides, Alec had already gotten to Max before I could."
"Wait, your job was to protect Alec?" Max asked Bear in confusion.
She shot a quick look to Alec, but he was looking at Bear like he was trying to tell her to keep quiet.
"Yes, I am Alec's bodyguard," Bear said, ignoring Alec completely. Alec threw his head back again and groaned. "But, I couldn't do my job because somebody tackled me!"
Max looked to Alec in surprise at finding out that Bear was actually his bodyguard. "You assigned yourself a bodyguard?" Max asked in amusement.
"No. She assigned herself," Alec replied shortly.
There was another cough that brought their conversations to a halt and Carter suddenly got up from a pile of what used to be the door.
"What was that?" Carter asked as he made his way to the group.
"As soon as the Mayor left, someone appeared outside and shot whatever that was at us," Alec answered.
"We need to go," Max immediately stated. "If they think we're dead, they might attack the rest of TC. Kick us while we're down kinda thing…"
Alec nodded in agreement and they all took off to the stairs. They used the tunnel of the building instead of going outside just in case someone was out there waiting for them and ran to Command. They'd left Mole in charge since they were both going to be at the meeting and Max just hoped he hadn't declared war just yet. She still wanted to try and prevent it coming to that even though they had just been attacked.
"Mole!" Max called out as soon as they were within earshot.
Mole shot her a look of surprise at seeing her alive, "We heard the explosion and Gunner said that someone blew up your building and he didn't see you guys leave."
"We got lucky," Max replied. "Have they made a move yet?"
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time," Mole said. "Our people are all under cover, but they're ready as soon as you give the word."
"I don't want to attack," Max said. Mole rolled his eyes like he knew she was going to say that, but he didn't argue with her.
"Max!"
Everyone turned in surprise as Logan appeared, running towards her and calling her name with a huge smile on his face.
"Oh great…" Alec muttered under his breath.
Logan slowed as he got closer and looked at her in concern, "What happened?" She looked down at herself and saw that her clothes were filthy and dust covered her skin. She looked at Alec and the others and saw they looked the same.
"Let's just say the meeting didn't exactly go as planned," Max said slowly.
"Are you ok?" Logan asked.
"I'm fine…Logan, where were you?" Max asked.
"Something wonderful happened," Logan said, his eyes bright with excitement. "It'll be better if I just show you."
"Wha-" Max started to ask in confusion. But before she could even finish asking, Logan grabbed her and sealed his lips to hers.
More soon...