"In A Broken World: All Fairytales End"
iluvaqt Disclaimer: All the characters belong to their respective creators, including Cameron/Eglee Productions and 20th Century Fox Studios. No money is being made from the use of these characters. It is written solely for Dark Angel fans.
Summary: Sequel to I'll Be Here. Do you really need me to repeat the rest? In her despair and loneliness Max has turned to Alec. Logan is at a loss to even begin to understand the changes in his life and Tash is back with vengeance. Prologue - character thoughts during the events of 'I'll Be Here' and 'All Fairytales End'.
Spoilers/Timeframe: AU (Designate This, The Berrisford Agenda). Must read 'I'll Be Here' before reading chapter one of this fic.
Rating: PG-13 (language, violence and sexual references)
iluvaqt's Notes: If anyone wants to give me feedback negative/positive or a new story idea please email me. I hope you like this continuation. :o)
Onion, you are the inspiration behind this fic. I didn't want to crash on your story, but if you didn't write it so damn well, then maybe I wouldn't be using it.! Got a chance, go and read 'Another Night' by Onion.
For those who read I'll Be Here ages ago, a quick recap. Logan just visited Dean in prison in Dallas City, Illinois. He walked out of his prison visit to find Max waiting for him. This story carries on from there. After what could easily be a page of my rambling, here is chapter one. Enjoy!
Prologue: Reflections
Four peoples' lives changed forever. One night, they all made decisions that altered their life courses. One gave up her lover because his heart didn't belong to her. Another sacrificed himself for love and landed in prison. A soldier learnt compassion, but in that, made a weak mistake. A dark angel momentarily succumbed to her pain, loneliness, and heartache.
~ Asha~
I'm lying here on the sofa. Yes, that's right, on the damn sofa 'cause I have no energy to move any further. It's a wonder I made it home at all. Home, funny I call it that because I could have sworn that the only home that felt so perfect and complete was safe in his arms.
It didn't matter that he was totally absorbed in his work almost 'twenty-four-seven'. I could be labelled a workaholic too. His morning breath and prickly stubble never bothered me in the slightest. Hell, I probably looked ten times worse of a morning. One night, I recall we got in so late after a mission that we both tumbled into bed fully clothed and still mucky from crawling through dirt. During the night, I had unconsciously cuddled up to him, and when I awoke our lips where inches apart, legs intertwined, and one of his hands was lazily resting on my butt. I had remained utterly still, mindful not to wake him. Wanting this moment to just drag on forever. Wishing morning would never come, and I could lie in his embrace just like this for eternity. While he slept, I traced a finger down his nose, across his morning shadow, and paused at his lips. A soft moan escaped his beautiful mouth. I had leaned in close to touch his lips with mine.
In his unconsciousness, he uttered one word. If I hadn't been awake, I would have never heard it. If I weren't less than a breath away from his mouth, I probably would have missed it. But I had, and that one word brought instant tears to my eyes and shattered everything inside me.
I pulled away from him. The moment totally destroyed, forgotten. Easing out of his embrace, I slid off the bed. I couldn't stay in that bed. Not when he was dreaming of her, whist holding me.
"Max," he said, his voice fully of longing. It tore at my heart, long sharp claws ripping in deep, making it bleed. I thought we'd finally gotten past all that. It had taken months, but I had thought he'd finally started to let go. I never gave him any indication that I was jealous. Never said a word when her name was mentioned. I pretended I didn't notice if he'd call Original Cindy, just to check if she'd heard from Max.
But today really did it for me. We were just walking, to nowhere in particular, but I watched his expression when he heard that broadcast about the NSA agent. He hadn't been really listening to a word I had said. And after, when I questioned him about it, he just brushed me off. It really wouldn't have made any difference if I had been standing beside him or not. He wouldn't have noticed. He was a billion miles away.
All afternoon I'd known that something was bothering him, and before when I awoke to find that he was still up, I knew he was thinking about Max. It was right there in his eyes, and again he tried to cover it up, brush me away. No. I couldn't do it anymore.
Call me weak or whatever you want, but I'm no doormat. And I won't be the substitute body. I love him. God knows I love him. But I just can't do this. I thought I could; maybe I thought he could. No, that was just plain madness. Tell me it's possible. How can we go back to being just friends after this?
I'm trying really hard, but I just can't stop crying. I'm sobbing like a big baby. How sad is that? "I'm sorry," he said, and for one moment while he held me, I foolishly thought he was going to admit that he was being stupid. That he needed me, that he loved me. I know, I know, I'm a fool. I just can't figure out why he's holding onto the past, holding on to her, when it's obvious that she'd abandoned him. But no, he'll never say that, and he didn't. And when he let me go and stepped out of our embrace, I died a little more inside. Feeling used, alone and empty.
Why did I let it happen?
I close my eyes and trap any further tears. My head aches, and now that I'm up, my stomach grumbles in protest. I look at my watch, 4.08 a.m. Pulling my drained body off the sofa, I head for the kitchen. I might as well drown my sorrows in food; it always helped before. My mother joked that it was the worst way to deal with my emotions; she wondered why in the world I wasn't a ten-foot barge. I guess my father's metabolism is a bonus. Otherwise I would be one of those chubby girls everyone loves to tease.
Opening the freezer, I pull out a tub of ice cream. 'Nuts About Chocolate'. Yep I'm nuts all right. Nuts to have even considered Logan as more than a friend, crazy to believe that he could ever get over her. Walking to the bedroom, I finally make the effort to crawl into bed. Switching on the bedside lamp, it illuminates the room with a soft glow. In the light I see it, the one reminder I need right now, Logan's jacket hanging off the bedpost. The tears start again, and I almost choke on the spoon in my mouth. Pulling it out, I dump it back in the tub and set it on the floor. Food forgotten, I tumble into the covers.
Why did I have to fall in love with you?
~Dean~
Logan Cale. He didn't even have to say his name. I already knew what he had come for. He had that same anguished look in his eyes, the same drawn face; the expression that was mirrored in my own, the face I woke up to see every morning. I remember telling him what he needed to hear, probably more for my own benefit than his. As the guards led me down the hall back to my cell block I remember catching a glimpse of fiery red hair. It made me take a second glance. Her back was facing me, but even clad in a generic black suit, her strikingly perfect figure couldn't be disguised. The guard roughly tugged on my arm, dragging me along. It diverted my attention for a second. When I turned to look over my shoulder, she was gone.
An hour later, I was passed a small envelope. A letter. At first I didn't want to open it. Most likely a long-winded letter from mom, and anything she would say at this moment would just depress me further. My younger sister just recently married, about two weeks after the sentence was handed down. She had wanted to postpone the wedding when news of the trial came out, in complete faith that I'd be cleared and would be able to walk her done the aisle. Dad died when she was six, in a high-speed accident. You could say I've been her brother and father figure for most of her life. My little sister. Well I told her to go ahead with or without me. When the final verdict came, I told her I was so sorry. I can still see the utter confusion and hurt in her eyes. I would have given everything in the world to make that sadness disappear, make her laugh or smile, but I couldn't. Everyone had come to accept my guilt, even me. But Melissa wouldn't hear of it. She was adamant that I did nothing wrong. It wouldn't surprise me if she'd written me a letter from her honeymoon cruise.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I ripped open the letter. It was such a comfort to have someone who had such trust in you. A smile still played on my lips as I read the note inside.
"Tash." I whisper her name. I don't even realize that I say her name aloud. I'm still half asleep. It's been weeks now since I first received that letter. I only wear the angel at night; during the day I wouldn't dare. If the guards didn't see it and confiscate it, one of the other inmates would probably stab me or club me just to steal it.
In prison, you learn real quick. It's survival of the fittest. Not just in strength but in brains too. You know to get out alive, you've gotta bulk up. You're almost expected to fight on a daily basis. Everyone wants a piece of you. It's common knowledge that I wasn't one of them. I was one of those ex government cronies. If you're smart, you know who to befriend and who to just avoid like the plague.
Days, weeks, maybe months go by. Time has no meaning for me anymore. Only the nights when I lay in silence and dream of her beautiful face. Holding her in my arms and breathing her in. She's right beside me.
I roll over, holding the angel over my heart. Dreaming of Tash, asking why life dealt me this hand. Why couldn't I fall for a normal girl? What am I saying? I wouldn't love an average girl the way I love Tash. She's everything; vibrant, sexy, smart, and it's because she's different that she first intrigued me. Just because she's an X5, she's supposed to be dangerous. Everything leads back to one man. Ames White. There's so much more to this investigation than what he told us. Something just really nags at me, something's not quite right. My intelligence tells me that it's useless to even concern myself now when there's nothing I can do. But my gut and dead on instinct tells me that I should be doing something.
But what?
~Alec~
There's a light in the distance
It's faint but the glow reaches out
Piercing the darkness
Seeping into my blackened soul
Bringing warmth to my cold isolation
The burden of loneliness I bear.
Why do I walk this path alone?
I look at my hands in despair
These are my torment
Actions that can't be undone.
I hurt those that love me
Pain is all that I give.
If you could read my mind
The thoughts you'd see
All the hate I feel for myself
You'd feel toward me too
It can't be undone
Everything that I've done.
It's not blood that taints these hands
Blood would be easy to clean
Poison coats my skin
Runs through my veins
I can't escape it
Being born into this existence.
Drilled, indoctrinated, and poisoned
The pattern cannot be broken
I was born a soldier
I'll die the ultimate specimen
Fulfilling my duties
Completing the objective
Final salute, mission a success
Her eyes, those deep, sad brown eyes. I can read her soul through them. Does she know that? A soldier should never expose herself like that. Making herself vulnerable, yet she does. Why? She trusts me. I'm such a dick. I want to beat the crap out of something, squeeze the life out of it. Then maybe this aching feeling will leave my body. That night haunts my every waking moment, and when I close my eyes at night, I see her all over again. Those eyes full of tears, her quivering bottom lip, and that slender body a wreck with sobs. I did that to her.
"Logan- Logan. He." She's struggling to get the words out. I tell her to slow down. Guiding her to a chair, I push her down into it gently. Count backwards from ten, I instruct her. By the time she gets to one, she's settled somewhat. Then she tells me everything. Why she left Dallas City, about where she left Logan. I stand there watching her, knowing that my face is an understanding mask. Why she came to me, I still can't figure. Why not go to Tash? Girls are more sympathetic or so I've heard. She falls asleep crying softly. She's in my arms, asleep in my comforting embrace. She clings to me like a lifeline.
The guilt hits me like a sledgehammer. I've experienced the emotion before, only once before with Rachel. But holding Max in my arms, whispering reassuring words and stroking her hair and back, the feeling is so intense I know my stomach is churning inside out. Tell her, tell her, tell her, she'll understand. No way, are you kidding? She'll hate you, slap you, maybe even kill you. Do you have a death wish? These thoughts are all ragging through my head simultaneously, and the longer I sit holding her in my arms, the worst the thoughts get.
I know what I have to do.
For now, I will just be here for her, let her work through things. Please just don't let him die. I just can't tell her yet, but please let Logan live. I don't think she'll ever even look at me again if she knew the truth, and it would be so much worse if he dies.
He just can't die.
~Max ~
I've cried so much over the past few months that I think I've drain myself dry. It doesn't hurt so bad anymore; like the saying goes 'time heals all wounds', right? I don't know, maybe I just say that to make myself think it's all okay. At least I know that Logan's doing better. I made an inquiry through a contact, to trace the hospital records on a Logan Cale. He didn't give the info cheap, but it was worth it to me. Logan was discharged from Seattle hospital over a month ago. It was such relief to hear I didn't kill him. He probably hates me. I just left him there. He has a right to, I guess. From the report, it looks as though I could've damn well killed him. Close enough to it anyway. I can't help but wonder if he still thinks about us the way I do when my mind is free to think. I usually try to keep myself so busy that I don't have time to reminisce.
Today started off as the usual. Riding to town and loading wood onto trucks. I still can't get over the looks I get while I work. Come on, you'd think that by now men would just get over themselves. They call it hard labor, most of the time I see the slack asses just lazing around, drinking cheap coffee. Sometime I miss Jam Pony, the regular same old routine and the slacking off when the boss wasn't paying attention. Urgh, you're gonna puck, but I'm kinda missing Normal's uptight all American attitude too. "You're late again, missy." It makes me smile, just thinking of all the guys. Then I frown 'cause I haven't even had the guts to call.
"Hey, Max," Tommy calls. He's a great kid, hard worker, and sympathetic guy. Sympathetic for the wrong reasons though. I can tell he's trying to get friendly with me. He's just too obvious.
"What's up?" I reply. He walks toward me, holding a newspaper and a thick envelope. He throws the envelope toward me, and I catch it one handed. Tearing it open, I scan the contents of the papers inside.
I don't blame you for what happened. How could you have known? Don't throw this away, Max, just keep reading, okay? Last night, I couldn't sleep. Something was just nagging me to do this search. I had no idea what for, I just knew I had to. So I logged onto my system and did the search. Do you know what it was for? I was looking for you. I had to know that you were okay, that you were safe and maybe I had to let you hear this too. Yeah, laugh if you want. It's one of those infamous Logan Cale, lyrical pen scratchings. One dedicated to one special woman.
The angel is disappearing
She was right here in my arms
Now she's gone
One so full of light and fire
Burnt out to less than a glimmer
Of all the nights together
One stands for all time
That night I held her
Close to my heart
She's more than lover
Angel, she's strong
Her eyes hold the world
My world and everything in it
The pain I felt in sickness
Is nothing to the pain I bear
Now that she's gone
Passion and trust
Love and awe
Is all what I feel for her
She is my soul
Angel don't be alone
She is my heart and my all.
I love you, Max. Nothing's changed. I found out where you were through trade records. Rachel Glasser was a dead given. I remember her well. Although I doubt Biotech Frontier's has an office in Orr Town. And she seems to have gone through a massive career change too. Interesting choice I must say; I always though journalism and newsprint was the best job in the business. Anyway, I'm still right here as always, and you can drop by anytime.
I miss you.
Logan.
I felt the tears welling up again. Damn, I thought I was over that. Damn it, not here and not now. "Max, what's wrong? Max?" Tommy tries to touch my arm, but I brush him off. Hurriedly, I make for my bike. "I'm not feeling too good, Tommy. Tell Mack I'll be in early tomorrow. Gotta blaze, 'kay?" I yell over my shoulder. Already pushing off and peddling like crazy, I don't even look back to see if he got my message.
I manage to get through the front door before breaking down in a sobbing mess. Gees, I'm such a moron. I hear footsteps getting closer. I don't want to look up. He's seen me like this once too often. "Max?" he says quietly. Alec leant down and lifted my chin. "It'll be okay you know."
"How can you say that? You don't even know what's going on." I wanna bite my tongue off when I see the hurt look in his eyes. It's quickly masked, but it was there long enough for me to see it. And I immediately hate those words, but I can't take them back. Tears are still trailing down my face. Alec just pulls me into a hug, and I lean into him. He's softly brushing my hair and just holding me.
I don't really know what happened first. If I kissed him, or if he kissed me. I just remember feeling so safe, so loved and secure. For a moment, my whole world just stopped spinning outta control. For one moment, I felt I was standing on my own two feet, and I was on stable, solid ground. Those green eyes locked with mine, full of understanding and just plain acceptance. He cared and accepted me, the messed up-half human freak I am. Then again, we're in the same boat. Just admit it, you idiot, you need him.
I hear him breathing steadily behind me now. I can't tell if he's asleep yet or not, and I'll die before rolling over and finding out. What the hell did I do? What did we do? How did I let this happen? I'm trying to stop my rapidly increasing heart rate. That will be sure to wake him.
How could I have slept with him? I'm not in heat; this was all me. What was I thinking? I bite my lip to keep it from twitching. I know it's starting again. I gotta get a handle on these damn emotions; they just make me sick and icky. Of all the times to go weak, I do it with Alec for goodness' sake.
Dear God, help me, please just let him be asleep. And when he wakes in the morning, please let him understand. That's all I ask.
Chapter One - When The Ice Breaks
"Hey. Max, come on, don't do this." Alec attempted to wipe the moisture off that smooth cheek. But his hand was abruptly brushed aside. The last thing he wanted was for her to start regretting what they just shared. Sure, he certainly didn't expect her to profess her undying love for him. That would never happen. Yet he wanted to think that she at least felt that it was more than just sex. He needed to hear that he was at least a good friend to her. That she didn't blame him for not being Logan.
I can't look at him. I just can't. How did I do this? What was going through my f***ing mind? It wouldn't matter how many times she asked that question, it wouldn't change the reality of the situation. She had slept with Alec, and now she had to deal with the aftermath. Crawling out of the bed and dragging the sheet with her, she made for the bathroom. Slamming the door behind her, she crumpled to floor, letting all her pent-up frustration pour out in sobs. There was no way in hell she was going to let Alec see her like this.
Alec might not be able to see her, but he could hear her. Max's choking breaths and tears were so loud in his ears it was almost as if she was still right next to him. Again he questioned himself, how could he have done this to her? That's right, this was his fault. There was no way he could shift the blame for this onto anyone else. Their having sex was all her decision, but the virus was entirely his responsibility.
The bio weapon that would keep Logan and Max apart indefinitely, was all his doing. Launching himself off the bed, he dressed quickly. He couldn't stay here. Not with Max crying in the bathroom. Crying over something he did to her. He had no idea about her relationship with Logan when he first met her. Then again, if he did, would it have made him change his mind about the mission? Probably not. He'd always been a soldier, first and foremost.
The softer feelings had only come recently, and he owed that all to Max. She had shown him there was more to life than the Manticore objective. Now, as he left the apartment, he felt the bitterness build up in his soul. After all she'd done for him, how could he possibly admit it was all his fault that she was feeling this frustration? He only hoped that he'd be able to find her a cure before she discovered his betrayal.
As he plunged the needle full of sedatives into her back, he waited a full five seconds before she tumbled off her chair and into his arms. He knew she wouldn't come willingly, and he wasn't about to try to beat her into submission. That would take far to much effort on his part. What neither of them anticipated was the effect of the additives in the syringe. A designer infection intended for one man alone, Eyes Only. Renfro had insisted that as soon as Alec found Max, he inject her with the bio weapon. Renfro had been furious at Max's escape. Not only had she escaped from Manticore for a second time, but she had disappeared before being administered the prototype strain.
Alec had remedied that little hiccup, but everything in his world changed in a few short hours.
Instead of returning home to report on his mission, he had returned to a blazing inferno. From where he stood, he could smell fresh blood, burning flesh, and chemicals. The scene he surveyed looked worse than any mission he'd ever witnessed. It was a war zone. The place he called home and people he thought of as family had been obliterated before his eyes. He'd wondered back to Seattle, lost and alone. His mission forgotten, he made his way unconsciously to the highest point in the city. He had stayed there for hours, immersed in his reverie. That was until Max showed up and pulled him back to the present.
In a short time, Max and her friends had manage to haul him together. The day after Manticore was destroyed, he wasn't the same person. He no longer held his Manticore designation. He was Alec. Somehow all the thoughts relating to his mission seemed to slip from his memory. One important fact had vanished from his mind. Probably because everyone was so caught up in staying alive and keeping out of White's hands. They were meant to be superior, weren't they? How he could have neglected that vital piece of information, he still couldn't fathom.
Then
"Logan. Watch out." Max tried reaching for the steering wheel in an attempt to keep the car on the road. Logan seemed to have lost control of the car, and they were headed directly for the trees.
As much as he wanted to, Logan couldn't hold the wheel or direct it. All the strength in his body seemed to be seeping away. The road and everything else in sight started to go hazy, and his clothes felt incredibly tight. Taking a deep breath, he blinked. After that, blackness washed over him.
Max had kept her panic in check when Logan had passed out. She'd managed to bring the car to a screeching halt and jumped out of her side to rush and open his door. Unfastening his seatbelt, she leaned her head close to listen for his heart beat. It was beating steadily, but from the colour of his skin and shallow gasps for breath, she knew he was far from okay. Pulling the cell phone from his pocket, she dialed 911.
The ambulance had arrived and taken Logan to the nearest hospital in less than 15 minutes. With each passing second, she could see the life slipping from him. By the time a doctor attended to him, Logan's skin had turned an ashy red. His body was bathed in sweat, and his eyelids flickered with the tremors that were attacking his body.
"How long has he been showing these symptoms?" Dr. Josie Lu looked at the edgy young woman standing by the window.
"He passed out about 20 minutes ago. He's breathing was shallow, but his heart rate was steady. But he's rapidly regressing," Max responded automatically. She wished that everyone would just act a little quicker. Logan was dying here.
The doctor listened to his heartbeat and checked his pupils. As she lifted Logan's shirt a little higher, she noticed a purplish rash beginning form low on his right side. To confirm her suspicions, she would have to take a blood and spinal fluid sample, but she was fairly sure of what it could be. She'd have to strike back quickly and with something strong. "Is he allergic to anything?"
Max shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of."
"Before I can administer any drugs, there are a couple of quick tests I need to do. It's hard to tell how he's been affected or what could have caused the attack. It would be helpful to know just how he contracted the virus. He could have picked it up in the past couple of hours." Scribbling some notes on her clipboard, Josie turned to leave. "There is a chance you could have contracted the virus too. Would you object to having a blood test?" She knew that she was flying on an instinct here, but something told her that she would rather be safe and give this woman antibiotics. There was a chance she could have contracted the meningitis. When the woman responded with a slight nod, Josie gave her a warm smile and walked from the room.
After getting the required samples, Josie went to the lab. Working with Dr. Adam Erikson, they got the surprise of their lives. The infection present in the Logan Cale's spinal fluid was an evolved form of streptococcus pneumoniae. The bacteria were rapidly multiplying and would be creating immense pressure on his spine. Josie took a step back. What should she do? She could combat it in the same way as the regular form of meningitis and see if the treatment worked. But what if it didn't? This man would die.
"Josie, I think you should take a look at this." Adam moved away to let Josie see the sample he was studying. When she looked up with the shocked look on her face, he nodded in agreement. "Weird, huh? I've never ever seen anything like this. This person has free-floating stem cells and O- blood type. Even crazier than that, they have the some interesting looking strain of the same bacteria as the other sample yet you're saying they aren't showing any symptoms. It's almost like they're dormant in this sample."
"Mr. Cale is showing all the symptoms of streptococcus; high fever, unconscious, convulsions, and the purplish rash has began to spread." Josie started collecting the samples and putting them into an express mail satchel. "I'm going to send these to the lab in Chicago to have them tested. I want to know just how the heck this thing got concocted and what's with this strange blood sample."
"Did you get the name of the woman?" Adam asked. When Josie shook her head, they both seemed to rush for the door at the same time. As they hurried down the long corridor from the small laboratory to the intensive care unit, Josie filled Adam in on the details.
"She could have given him the infection. Weakening his immune system and he picked up the menigitis on his own... or they gave it to each other. Who knows, probably by coughing or kissing? It doesn't spread with less intimate contact or in the air-"
Josie swung the door wide. The room's only occupant was the sick man on the bed, the window was wide open and the curtains billowed with the wind. Walking over, she pulled the window shut. "My guess is she's gone." Going to the bed she rested her hand on Logan's forehead. "He's burning up, I'm going to start an IV solution of gemifloxacin kill the bacteria and start a course of our strongest anti-virals to treat the meningitis infection."
"Sounds like a good start."
Dr. Josie Lu didn't even know who the mysterious woman was. Why she had such a strange blood composition, and why she was a carrier of an infection that was behaving like nothing she has ever seen before? After obtaining the required antibiotics and administrating the first dose, Josie walked out of the patient's room and went to the nurses' station. "I want you to page me the minute there's any response from Mr. Cale. And make sure his dosage is up to the second. He needs another course in four hours. Thanks, Tanya." The antibiotics would take effect immediately, but it would be several hours yet before she could tell if he was out of danger. The man was so weak with fever that he still lay unconscious in the hospital bed.
Now
That had all happened over three months ago. Max had blamed herself entirely, saying that if she hadn't gotten caught and brought back to Manticore, she wouldn't have gotten contracted the infection. Not knowing that it was him who had injected her with it after she'd escaped, she only had herself to deduce as the cause of Logan's sudden illness. To Alec it was still a mystery as to why the bio-weapon kicked in so late. Maybe it needed time to build up strength. He wasnt a chemist, how would he know? And it wasnt as though Renfro had handed him any details on it.
Alec sat on the park bench. The cold metal was steadily freezing his ass, but still he didn't budge. The wind picked up and started to sting his already pink nose. Maybe being outside right now wasn't such a great idea. At least not dressed in jeans and a sweater. Air brushed over the frozen lake and picked up bits of snow and ice, causing a mist to form. The breeze blew in his direction bringing the white fog with it. Soon the cloudy blanket surrounded him, and the naked trees and snow covered ground was lost to a fairylike white wonderland. Mesmerised by the beauty and tranquilly of the place around him, he got up and began to walk onto the ice. A voice broke the silence. Calling to him.
"Alec! Alec, are you out here?"
It was Max. She sounded distant; the wind was carrying her voice away from him. Alec turned to where he knew the sound had originated. He only paused for a second, but the extra pressure was enough. The surface disappeared from beneath his feet, and he plunged into the icy water. The shock shot through his body, chilling the blood in his veins, and sending thousands of needle pricks of pain into his muscles. Reaching for the edge of the broken ice, he tried pulling himself out. The surface that had once seemed solid continued to crumble beneath his grasp. In freezing water, his body continued to weaken. His teeth began to chatter, and the blood had slowly drained from his face. Suddenly, a rope dropped with a thud in front of him. The knotted end dangled just beneath the water's surface. He wrapped his fingers around it and held on as tightly as he could. His skin burned. He was pulled out of the icy hell with strong tugs, and soon he lay on a rock hard surface. The wind stinging his wet skin and burning his half numb face. Before he could protest, he was roughly hoisted up and carried 'search and rescue' style.
Tears burned down her face, sending icy chills through her skin. Max struggled to close to door behind them. Dropping Alec on the floor in front of the fireplace, she proceeded to rip his wet clothing off. All the while, she was muttering obscenities and struggling to keep her angry tears in check. He's an idiot. A bloody idiot. Not only is he the biggest smart-ass I know, but he's got a dick for a brain. Wiping her face agitatedly, she kicked the wet bundle to one side. Alec was shivering uncontrollably. At least she'd got to him before he'd frozen and drowned. Running to the bedroom, she pulled off all the linen and hauled it all back to where Alec lay. Bundling him up like a baby, she turned to the fireplace and started throwing in logs. Soon, she had a roaring blaze going. Hurriedly, with nimble fingers, she took off her damp clothing and joined him under the blankets. Wrapping her arms around his cold body, she pressed her skin against his, hoping to pass her warmth into his blood. Come on, Alec, you're gonna be fine. Just stay with me, okay? I can't lose you too. "That's right, smart-alec, I can't lose you. So don't even think about dying on me."
Alec couldn't feel his limbs; he couldn't even feel the glorious body that was close to him. His whole being felt numb. Somewhere in the white fog clouding his brain, he was sure he heard Max's voice."I can't lose you." Her voice seemed to trail off, and he felt like he was drifting, slowly floating away.
