DA: Season 3

GUESS WHO'S BACK? BACK AGAIN?!

Hello to all the loyal and invested followers of this story. I appreciate all of you and your continued interest in this fanfiction. Sorry for being gone soooooo long, however, I moved to a new city, started college, and have been adjusting to adulthood and independence. I am approaching this story as a better educated and more mature writer and my goal is to update regularly and complete this story. This story will be a bit long (hope that's okay with you all ;) as I want to take my time exploring these characters and the domesticity and vulnerability they are capable of.

I look forward to reading all of your reviews and comments, and without further ado, I give you chapter 5!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel or any of the characters, however, all original characters and this current plot are all mine!

Chapter 5: Domestic Interlude

Meanwhile in California:

In an out of the way warehouse that most people would overlook were parked three trucks loaded with supplies and a group of determined people. Jack and Zane had 'acquired' the semi's, a fact they were very proud of while Seth, Ben and Krit had made a deal with a big name warlord known for his discretion that had landed them a hefty arsenal. Brin, Jondy and Eva had managed to stockpile a store of food and rations while Syl and Tinga loaded up on medical supplies and equipment. Their days had been spent working, planning and bonding, all their hard work had paid off and they would be heading out the next day. Lydecker had to pull some strings to get them sector passes for their travel but the paperwork was finally in order. They were headed to Seattle, to Max. Although they were excited to find their baby sister, they weren't naïve enough to think they would all be able to live happily ever after, a showdown was coming and they could only hope and pray that they would be ready for it.

Back in TC:

In the stillness of the dawn, when weak tendrils of sunlight begin to emerge bravely heralding a new day, amidst rubble and ruin, their far reaching warmth happens upon a young woman, bathing her in light. She sits in a worn mismatched armchair that was moved across the sparse living room and directly in front of the dust streaked window. Requiring little to no sleep, she has spent the night reflecting over her current situation. Her entire life, Max Guevarra's every decision has been guided by the need to protect herself and her family, now she has taken on the responsibility of protecting and ensuring the survival of the transgenic population seeking refuge in Terminal City. Although it has only been a handful of days since she and Alec took on the responsibility, in moments of stillness she has allowed herself to feel the overwhelming enormity of pressure on her shoulders. How she wishes that she had Zack and Jondy, Zane, Ben, or any of her siblings with her. Being the youngest of their group, she was always looked out for. She misses knowing that someone older, stronger, or wiser could swoop in to her rescue when she is drowning. After twelve years of being alone, she knows she should have rid herself of the childish need for her big brothers and sisters but that is both the beauty and curse of loved ones, one can never fully stop needing or wanting them.

Alec has been an unexpected surprise. He has become her partner and her confidant, her constant, and now her tentative family and a true friend. Looking back, the evolution of their relationship seems rushed when in reality, necessity and circumstance drove them back to each other time after time, cementing their place in each other's lives. Now there is a baby, their baby, relying on them for survival, family, and love.

In all her years of wishing and dreaming, Max never saw a future in which she was blessed with becoming a mother. Sure she imagined herself one day living a normal life, hopefully finding love, but a true child of her own never seemed attainable. Now she was a mother to a beautiful baby boy that she knew would grow up to be a looker like his dad, and if she was lucky, she would one day see him have the life full of all the things she never had. Suddenly, her heightened senses alert her to the sound of crinkling blankets and the searching snuffles of a hungry baby boy. Having been through this routine multiple times during the night, she quickly makes her way to her bedroom in order to prevent the impending cries of her son. She takes a moment to marvel upon his tiny scrunched up face, his miniature lips parted, and his tongue appearing and disappearing, seeking nourishment. It was only too easy for his determined limbs to escape her pathetic attempt at swaddling and she reaches a finger out to be caught up by a determined little fist.

"Hey there Carr, how is my baby boy this morning?" she crooned to him softly. In the night she had made use of her free time and a weak lamp to read The First Year with Baby, the parenting book gifted to her by Cindy. She was brimming with knowledge and already felt that she was behind in giving Carter the best start in life. She was excited for the morning so that she could put her knowledge to practice starting with baby bonding. She had read about the importance of skin to skin contact between baby and parents in order to aid in the baby's development and form a strong attachment. Although their altered feline DNA served to create these bonds intrinsically, Max wanted to experience these moments with her son. She knew Alec would also be on board, once he caught up of course.

Lifting her son to rest against her shoulder and remembering to support his head, she continued to converse with Carter as they made their way to the kitchen. "Welcome to a new day Carter, we are going to have so much fun spending time together today. We'll get you a bath, well, let's wait until your daddy is around to try that, you can splash him as much as you want." As she spoke to her son she was prepping his bottle with her free hand. She felt his little head moving about on her shoulder most likely reacting to the sound of her voice. Her book stated that babies can begin to hear sounds and voices as early as twenty weeks into the mother's pregnancy and that babies love the sounds of their parents' voices, not only that but the more words they knew the better their language skills would develop in the future.

"Okay Carr, your bottle is ready for you," she said, adjusting him to lay across her arms. She spread a burping towel on her shoulder in preparation and brought the nipple of the bottle to Carter's mouth. He latched on quickly and Max was treated to the cutest little grunts and suckles of a feeding baby. "You were hungry weren't you? Well of course you were, your little tummy is only the size of a walnut isn't it?" She knew that newborns were near sighted and Carter couldn't truly make out her face or features but it was amusing to watch his unfocused hazel eyes dart about while he drank his breakfast.

This is the scene Alec happened upon, mother and baby gazing searchingly into each other's eyes, learning one another. There was a soft smile on Max's face that he noticed she only wore in the privacy of their apartment and as of late, was most often directed at their miniature human. He counted himself lucky to be witness to a vulnerable Max and enjoyed the blissful domestic bubble they seemed to have unknowingly created. "Morning Maxie. Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked as he made his way towards them, smiling down at little Carter and brushing a finger across the top of his downy soft head."Hi buddy. Woah, you are really going to town on that bottle huh?" he questioned quietly.

"Good morning," Max responded in the same quiet tone. "I wasn't tired at all last night so I stayed up reading. Our little guy woke up four times during the night but I was able to get to him before he got too loud."

"Was he alright?" he asked, eyes immediately shooting down taking stock of his son.

"He was fine," Max said, a sly smirk upon her lips. "It's normal. He has a tiny tummy and he can't drink all the nutrients he needs at once so he'll have multiple feeding a day for at least the next six months."

"Really? That's...wow," he said looking upon said baby in awe. "Did you learn that from the book Cindy got you?" he asked.

"Yes. It was incredibly informative and made me feel like I can actually do this mom thingsomewhat competently. I'm actually glad you're up because I've been waiting to try something the book recommends for all new parents to help them bond…" Alec watched Max light up as she shared her knowledge with him, if she kept looking at him all excited like that, he'd do anything she wanted him to. He suddenly snapped back to attention when she mentioned skin to skin something or other.

"Wait, what? You're going to take your clothes off?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up and take off your shirt."

"Maxie, I'm all for stripping but we have a baby present. I know it's hard, but try to control yourself yeah?"

"Alec…" she ground out, the threat in her tone unmistakeable.

"Alright, alright, you know I'm just messing with you," he said sobering quickly. "I'm committed to our family and I look forward to bonding with our little guy. Just walk me through it alright?" He did his best to convey his sincerity and he could see her countenance relax.

"Okay. Why don't you burp Carr and I'll go wash up, then I'll join you two in the living room."

"You got it," he said, dexterously taking the baby from her arms as she adjusted the burping towel on his shoulder. Max made her way to the hallway but not before turning back to see Alec softly patting the baby's back, his hand comically large compared to his precious cargo.

"You should talk to him as often as you can," she suggested. "He likes the sound of our voices." Alec observed her for a moment before looking down at Carter and nodding.

Alec POV:

"You have one smart Mommy don't you buddy?" Alec whispered softly against Carter's head. His son wasn't in control of his limbs yet but seemed to perk up at the sound of his voice. "Yeah you do, and your mommy and I are going to do everything and anything to make sure we take good care of you. I promise you that. I'm so glad that you found your way to us. I didn't think I'd ever be a dad but now that I am I couldn't imagine ever not having you." He punctuated this statement by placing a gentle kiss on his son's head. "As the men of the house I'm counting on you to have my back against your mom, I have a feeling that me and you are going to give her grey hairs aren't we?" he questions looking down into miniature replicas of his own eyes. Instead of responding, he was treated to the nauseating stench of a spoiled diaper. "Really kid? Oh my god that's awful!" In between bouts of breath holding and watering eyes Alec managed to change his son's diaper, he was just cleaning up after himself when Max re-entered the room.

"Did he need a diaper change?" she asked, noticing that Carter had lost his onesie and was lying on his changing mat, his father's hand spanned across his wriggling body ensuring he didn't move.

"Yes. Oh man, I've had to put up with some really uncomfortable situations in my time with Manticore but nothing compares to this kid's diaper. Did you know this stuff came out of babies?" He asked, visibly aggrieved.

Max tried to hold out as long as possible but the look on Alec's face drove her to crack into soft chuckles which quickly spiraled into full out laughter.

"It's not funny," Alec exclaimed. "He needs to see a doctor!"

"No he doesn't, this is perfectly normal for babies." she replied, attempting to calm him.

"Well it's awful," he said, grimacing all the while. "But I guess we'll put up with it since the kid's kind of cute, won't we buddy?" he asked, leaning his face closer to the baby's and kissing the tip of his nose. Max merely grinned and herded the boys towards the couch.

"Alright, I'm going to take off my shirt and place Carter on my chest. The book said that we should do that for one hour increments as often as we can for at least the next four months."

"Right." Alec stated, wondering how they could adjust themselves on the small couch so that he could also share in the bonding time. Coming up with a plan he sat on the end of the couch with one leg spread across the seats, he gestured for a now shirtless Max to sit between his legs and rest her back against his chest. Understanding his intent, Max made herself comfortable and brought Carter's squirming diaper clad body to rest along the length of her torso. Once they had settled in Alec brought his arms around them both, his bare hands settling across Carter's back and diaper clad bottom.

All at once, it felt as though something inside of them clicked into place. The slight anxiety that had built up in Alec overnight at being separated from Max and Carter dissolved into a feeling of contentment at being able to feel his pack, his cub, safe and looked after in his arms. Max, whose doubts and worries plagued her sleepless nights felt complete and utter peace. And unknown to the both of them, their baby boy finally settled down fully. The scents that constantly surrounded him now were different from before. Before he remembers being cold, alone, the only time he was touched it had hurt. Now when he was touched it felt warm and soft. The scents surrounding him were no longer metallic but smelled like safety, like belonging. His cries were met with comfort. There were also voices, soft voices and each one felt different. One was soft and smooth, continuing on in an even tone. The second voice was grumbly and powerful but it never scared him. Both voices were present when he woke up and went to sleep, he hoped they stayed with him forever.

The family on the couch spent a lovely hour dosing in silence. Alec felt Max's body slowly become looser as she gave in and fell into a light dose. He peeked over her shoulder to see Carter's face turned towards him, his delicate and dark lashes resting against plum, warmth pinkened cheeks. Soft wuffles escaped his slightly parted lips. He then shifted his gaze to Max whose own face was softened by sleep. The worry lines he had noticed become more prominent during planning sessions completely untraceable now. He noticed how even in sleep, she kept a protective hold on Carter whose little pint sized hand was spread out across her exposed skin as though attempting to connect with as much of his mother as possible. Mine. Cried a primal and possessive voice long repressed within him. The suddenness and intensity of these feelings shocked him. He was sure the disbelief was written all over his face and he was glad that he had the privacy and silence to explore these new feelings. He understood the possessiveness he felt over his son, that was natural, but Max? She was in no way, shape, or form his and she would not appreciate being referred to that way. Like, ever. Did he have feelings for Max? If he was honest with himself, he did, but he would never admit it to her. At least, not before, but now that they had Carter, and even before they knew about him, when she made him her second in command their relationship had started to change. If he wanted to seriously pursue Max, he needed to make sure he was the kind of man she needed first, and to make sure he was pursuing her for the right reasons. With his feelings and thoughts resolved, he allowed himself to enjoy what he was feeling and experiencing. He knew that it was only a matter of time before their peaceful bubble was interrupted by questions, concerns, and some minor emergency or other but that was a worry for later. Right now he was going to watch over his family and read a parenting book.

Thank you for reading! Please read and review. Feel free to ask me questions or make suggestions about what you'd like to see happen as the story progresses. I have the plot pretty well thought out but I'm not in a rush to get there. I am content to enjoy the process of Alec, Max and Carter becoming a family and steadily growing into their leadership positions in TC.