What the !*$% is going on?
By Sinful Starlet
Disclaimer: once more for the record - not mine, never will be, yadda yadda yadda!
Rating: who knows?! R - probably!
Summary: My version of how Dawg Day Afternoon should really have gone for all you Max/Alec shippers out there! Oh yeah - and just for originality - Max goes into heat!
Author's note: Okay part two, off we go! Bit more of an idea of the story comes out here - plus oodles of angst-type stuff! *SS*
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PART #1
Max managed to not talk to him on the ride over to Jam Pony. Not that she would have normally, but this morning in particular she had no idea what to say to him. Alec grinned at her as they arrived at work, seeing the frown on her own face. "Penny for your thoughts?", he asked teasingly. Max didn't reply, just shot him a look that would be considered a deadly weapon in some circles. "Sorry!", Alec quickly interjected, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "Come on - I'll protect you from Normal!"
Max was about to say that she was about the last girl on Earth that needed protecting, and certainly not by him, but he was already guiding her into the building, one hand on the small of her back. She flinched a little at the contact, and he quickly withdrew the hand, but thankfully (as far as Max was concerned) he didn't say anything about it at the time. Luckily, neither of them were going to get in trouble with Normal that morning because he was standing with a couple of the other messengers, glued to the TV by the lockers.
They exchanged glances and wandered over together to see what was going on. Max cast her eyes around the room at the same time, but OC and Sketchy were nowhere to be seen. Max needn't have asked what the news story was about really - just about every news show had been running with the transgenic story for about the last three weeks, but particularly this last few days, ever since the Hoverdrone got that footage of one of the transgenics being caught and beating up that cop.
And yep - she was absolutely right, except this time the story was part of an interview with some reverend Normal said. He was spouting some of the usual garbage she heard about transgenics from the kind of people that knew absolutely nothing about them, but it was still something to worry about. Particularly when he brought up the subject of their barcodes. She flinched again then as she felt Alec leaning in closer to her, his breath against her cheek. He had been standing behind her, but he leant in closer to her then so he could whisper in her ear.
He said they should do something about their barcodes and Max just nodded, without turning round, trying not to draw any attention to them. She felt Alec reach for her hand, meaning for them to go now while no one was watching the two of them leaving together, but then Logan appeared on the screen. "Do not attempt to adjust your set...", his voice went on as the familiar Eyes Only banner rolled across the screen. Alec stopped as he saw the broadcast start, knowing Max wouldn't leave till it had finished.
That was the one thing about Max that he could never really figure out - her relationship with Logan. He knew they really cared about each other, although the affection was a little more obvious on Logan's part than Max's. Of course, he didn't claim to know everything about her, but it had always seemed like she was holding something back when she was around him. And then there had been the whole mess with the virus.
So now they couldn't even touch without him dying. That was real convenient. He began to understand how Max felt then. When she had had to give up the money she was saving for the cure to save his ass, he never thought she'd forgive him. But she had, in a way. They still argued all the time, but that night she'd busted him out of jail and he'd stayed at her apartment, there seemed to a change in her. She'd let him pull her into a hug and he even kissed the top of her head. She'd even let him stay the night.
He still remembered laying there on her couch, his heightened sense of hearing picking up the sounds of crying from her room. He'd been in two minds about whether to get up at all. Max still wasn't hugely comfortable with him, and he didn't want to intrude on her any more, but in the end he gave in. He couldn't just lay there listening to her when she was that upset. So he got up and knocked gently on her door. She didn't reply immediately but she eventually let him in. Her resolve lasted for all of about three more seconds and then she burst into tears again.
Again, hesitantly at first, he pulled her into a hug, resting her head against his chest and letting her have her cry out. She held back as much as she could, but in the end it all came out. All the pain and guilt about Ben that she had been holding in for so many months was finally released in that one moment...with him. She stopped crying at last and Alec stood up again from his position next to her on the bed, but she stopped him. He could see she didn't know how to ask, so he just nodded his head to tell her that he understood.
She got back under the covers then, as he brought a chair over to her bedside. Once he sat down, she reached for his hand again, which she took in hers, sleeping that way for the rest of the evening. Alec hadn't slept for a while after she had fallen asleep though, he just sat there, watching her sleep. He felt like he finally got to know Max that night. That she had finally let him see her in a way that he never thought she would. But even though she couldn't be with Logan - he was still constantly on her mind. He saw it in her eyes as she just stood there to watch his Eyes Only broadcast.
He waited until it had finished and the reverend came back on the screen, and then he ushered Max out of the building to go fix their barcodes. Max led the way, seeming to have an idea of where she was going, but she didn't talk to him the whole way there. He would never have known it, but he wasn't the only one thinking about that night. She had been a little surprised to find him still sitting there with her the following morning, and she felt more than a little awkward too. After all this was Alec that she has just shared something really deep and personal with.
But she had to hand it to him - he was really decent about it. He could see she wasn't ready to talk yet, so he just made his way back out to the living room, making himself some coffee while she got showered and ready for work. They hadn't spoken about that night since. Max couldn't after what happened with Logan. She had told him, not directly, but she had told him that her and Alec were together - and she still couldn't figure why exactly. She kept telling herself it was so Logan would finally stay away from her enough for him to be safe, but somehow, that argument wasn't so convincing anymore.
PART #2
Max had called Doctor Carr, Logan's friend on the way over and he had set them up at this clinic that he did some volunteer work in. It was closed at the moment for renovation, but a couple of X5s could sneak in no problem. The builders were actually at the other end of the building at the time, so it was even less of a problem for them as they snuck into the office and Max set to calibrating the laser, barely responding to Alec's question about the laser hurting.
She told him off for being a 'cissy', but then realised why he probably objected to them so much. She knew enough about the reindoctrination process from her own and Zak's experiences to know that Manticore got a little laser-happy on occasion. And Alec had spent another six months in psy ops - god only knew what they did to them there. He had certainly never talked about, and Max had had the sense not to ask. "Hey", she said, speaking more softly this time, in an attempt to reassure him, "I've done this before - it's over pretty quickly".
He nodded, he could tell what she was trying to do and he did appreciate the effort, even if he wasn't entirely sure why she was making it. He shrugged off his jacket, laying it on a chair in the corner of the room. Max mentally slapped herself for noticing the way his thin shirt clung to his chest and arms, but when he lay down on his stomach on the operating table, it was even worse. Max swore inwardly as she turned round to face him and her eyes slipped down his figure.
Those damn cargo pants of his just had to cling as he lay down didn't they?! She tore her gaze away from his ass reluctantly and worked her way back up to his neck. She gently pulled his shirt back a little so she could work on the barcode properly, trying not to think about the firm muscles that lay just beneath her fingers and a few millimetres of fabric. She forced herself to concentrate on the job in hand, working really quickly, but carefully as she erased the marker from the back of his neck.
He did flinch a little as the laser touched his skin, but he did manage to relax after a few seconds as she started talking to him, trying to get her own mind distracted, let alone his. He smiled as he sat up and took the laser from her so they could change places. She took off her own jacket, laying it on top of his as she climbed onto the table and got herself into a comfortable position.
She heard him laugh under his breath, and though she didn't turn to look at him, she asked him, "What's so funny?" "Oh I was just thinking I can finally say I got Max laid!", he joked back. 'Thank God', Max thought - a typical smart-Alec response from him, just what she needed to clear her head at that moment. "Alec--", she started, but he interrupted her. "Now, now Max - you're lying ass upwards on a surgical bench - I don't think now's a good time to be threatening the nice guy with the laser in his hand, do you?"
Max fought back a smile and turned her head to look at him, "Nice guy?", she questioned eventually. "Oh sure - of everything I just said - that's the part you had a problem with?!", he teased back, "Are you ever gonna let me win Max?" Max had to turn her head back then to stop him from seeing the involuntary blush that rose to her cheeks. 'Why had she reacted like that?', she thought, but that question was just a little too loaded for her liking. She eventually managed, "I'll let you know", which seemed to satisfy him as he laughed softly.
He put the laser torch down then, and she felt his fingers brush against her skin. "Your hair's in the way", he explained, as he felt her tense up, carefully separating her loose hair, so it fell on both sides of her neck and left her barcode exposed to him. He picked the laser back up again then, getting to work on her barcode. With the sound of that going, Max finally let the breath she had been holding, release. He was only helping her to evade suspicion while the town was a little less than loving the transgenic population, so why was he getting to her like this?
She wasn't the only one affected though. He had tried not to let it get to him, but Alec couldn't help but react as his fingers touched her silken skin. It was completely soft and smooth and its touch was intoxicating. Her skin felt a little hot to Alec too, given the temperature of the room, but he didn't think anything of it at the time, and just tried to concentrate on what he was doing.
They both tried to avoid it at first, but after Max's pager went off again, Alec picked it up, checking the number again - and yes it was Logan - again. He knew they weren't seeing each other right now, but he didn't know why Max would even swear off talking to him. He asked her why she wasn't going to call him back, but she just changed the subject, so he didn't press it any further.
Then his cell phone rang. He put down the laser and clicked it open. "Yeah?", he asked. "Alec it's Logan", came the voice on the other end. "Hey buddy", Alec said attempting to lighten the mood - both Logan and Max were sounding far too serious that morning. "We were just talking about you". There was a definite hesitation on the other end, but he didn't know why. "So Max is with you?", was Logan's response, and there was something in his voice that Alec couldn't quite place, but it did not sound good.
"Uh yeah", he said, "she's right here", he held out the phone, only then seeing Max mouthing 'no' to him, looking seriously mad. She couldn't very well not answer the call now though, so she took the phone and shoved Alec away so they could talk in private. Alec sat over on the other side of the room, waiting for her to finish. If he had tried he could have heard what she was saying, but he respectfully tuned her voice out.
He heard her end the call though, and the sigh that followed it. He waited a few more seconds then walked back over to her. "Everything okay?", he asked, guessing it probably wasn't the best question but needing to ask it anyway. "Peachy", Max replied, sarcasm dripping, but he could tell that she didn't want to talk about it right now. "Okay", he said, "well I'll just finish up on your barcode and we can get out of here". Max smiled in thanks then, lying back down on the table and not even flinching as his fingers grazed her skin this time.
AN. Okay - I know I've followed the eppy pretty close so far, but there are some differences as I'm sure you've noticed! If we were all living in my world, this is so how DDA would have actually been! Oh well! Thank God for fanfic! *SS*
