Disclaimer: Nelly is mine, the rest belong to Cameron etc.

Authors Note: Review or I'll stop writing!

DARK TERROR

Chapter 4 - Small Steps

Alec wasn't quite sure what he had expected when he woke up that morning. Max had finally let sound escape her lips last night before collapsing into the first peaceful sleep since he had rescued her. If he was being truthful with himself he had been hoping that like a miracle Max would wake up and be just as she had before this whole thing had started. But this wasn't a movie and this wasn't a book, where such instant recoveries happen. Alec leaned over to look at Max where she was lying beside him, her brown eyes dead and her face motionless.

"Max?" Alec waited a few moments hoping she would speak. All he wanted was to get a response from her, any response. "Max, come on, say something." Alec tapped her face lightly but she didn't so much as blink. Alec swallowed hard, he hadn't realised how hopeful he had been until the crushing disappointment struck him now. He pulled Max up into a sitting position, she was still dressed from the day before as was he.

"Please Max." Alec cupped her delicate face in his large hands and turned her head to face him. "Max -" Alec's voice cracked and he released her, standing and wiping a hand across his eyes to hide the tears of dashed hope. Silence filled the room for a few minutes while Alec regained his composure.

"Right." Alec cleared his throat and turned back to where Max was still sitting on the bed. "Guess we just carry on then." He reached down and pulled Max to her feet before picking up the duffel bag that he had packed the night before and slung it over his shoulder. Alec took one of Max's hands in his and started to walk to the door. His heart broke as Max placidly allowed him to lead her.

It didn't take long for the pair of them to walk to the bus station. It was a rough downtrodden area and even at this hour Max was attracting a fair bit of attention from some groups of youths hanging around. Max was a beautiful girl, even after everything she had been through. Alec had learned quickly that it was easiest to just ignore them as long as they didn't actually try anything physically. He kept a firm grip on her hand as he pulled her to queue at the ticket office.

"Hey baby! You wanna get it on with a real man?" The call came from a gangly guy across the road followed by a wolf whistle. Alec tensed and checked where it was coming from before relaxing. He could handle him easily if he turned out to be more trouble, but attracting attention of any kind was like throwing up a red flag to White.

"You doing alright Max?" Alec asked Max softly. Knowing even as he spoke that she wouldn't answer. No reply of course, but for a moment Alec had thought he saw something in her brown eyes flicker. It was gone almost before he noticed it and Alec shook his head in self deprecation. He was so desperate for Max to get better that he was making himself see things.

"Can I help you?" The bored tone of the ticket seller came through the bullet proof glass and Alec started, not having realised that they had reached the front of the line.

He stepped up quickly, making sure he tugged Max to stand close before releasing her hand in order to sort out the money. "Yeah. When's the next bus out of town?" He asked as he pulled loose about 80 dollars. That should cover them, wherever it was headed.

"The Gaitsburg bus is leaving at 9:50, that'll cost you $35 a ticket." The lady informed him in a monotone voice. Alec thought quickly. Gaitsburg. That's heading east. Good enough.

"That's fine, give me two." Alec slipped the cash into the sliding tray, waiting for her to ring it up and give him the tickets. While he was waiting Alec checked anxiously that Max was still with him. She was there, staring at the ground. Alec knew he would have noticed if someone had tried to take her away, and she never moved without prompting, but he panicked when he had to take his eyes off her in public, even for a moment. The tickets were shoved through to him a minute later and Alec picked them up without another word. It was best just to keep interaction to a minimum and hope that they were forgotten quickly. Only in fiction did paying off people to 'forget they were here' actually work. All that accomplished was making sure that they were definitely not forgotten.

Alec took Max's hand again as soon as the tickets were in his pocket. "Come on, lets get something to eat." He spotted a diner down the road and they made their way over.

Inside it was surprisingly clean and not too busy. Alec led Max to a booth, pushing her gently into the seat before sliding in next to her. A grandmotherly waitress, who's name tag identified her as Nelly, came over to take their order.

"Morning. What can I get ya?" She asked, pencil poised over her small notebook. Her frame was plump and she had a soft kindly look to her that was naturally endearing. Alec didn't even bother looking at the menu. They had been eating in places like this since they left Seattle and they all served pretty much the same stuff.

"I'll just have the pancakes thanks…" He was considering what to order for Max, she needs to put on weight, he just couldn't seem to get her to eat enough. Nelly turned to Max, assuming that Alec was done.

"And for you sweetheart?" She asked. Alec gulped and reached across the table to place a hand on Max's arm, hoping the waitress wouldn't notice Max's lack of response or the fact that she had been starting blindly at the wall since they had arrived.

"Uh, she'll have bacon and eggs." Alec said quickly. The older woman looked form him to Max, a confused expression on her face.

"Alright. Coffee?" She started to pour for them both but Alec stopped her when she went to fill Max's cup. Max simply wouldn't drink anything other than water or milk.

"Do you think you could just get her a large glass of milk?" He asked. Nelly nodded and casting another concerned glance at Max, walked off to place the order. Alec sighed in relief and rested his head momentarily in his hands. God he was tired of running. How the hell did Max do this for so many years? He wondered.

Alec raised his head as Nelly returned with a large glass of milk and balancing two plates of food. She set them down in front of the pair, "Here you go." The plump woman offered a small smile before moving on to another table. Alec ignored his own meal to attend to Max. He quickly cut her food into small manageable pieces and placed the fork in her right hand, seeing her grip it instinctively. Sitting back he watched as Max automatically responded to the feel of the metal in her hand and started to eat. As Alec began his own meal he looked over and saw Nelly watching them with an expression of pity and curiosity on her face.

When she saw that he had noticed her, Nelly turned back to her own activity and Alec shrugged of the attention. It was several minutes before Alec heard the noise of metal dropping against ceramic. Looking up he realised that Max had dropped her fork and stopped eating. She had hardly had more than a few mouthfuls. Putting down his own fork, Alec picked up hers and tried to place it back in her hand. To his surprise she resisted him, refusing to take it.

"Max?" Alec asked in confusion. She didn't respond to him. Alec reached over and pulled her face towards him. To his shock he realised that for the first time she was meeting his gaze. Those large liquid brown eyes were focused on his hazel ones. "Max!" There was no expression on her face and she didn't speak but her eyes seemed more alert just by connecting with his. Alec brushed the back of his fingers over the soft skin of her cheek. "Max can you hear me?" There was no reply and Alec felt his hopes start to sink. Maybe she wasn't really looking at him, maybe it was just a random chance that his eyes happened to be in her line of sight for once.

Alec made himself release her and sat back. Max's gaze shifted down and Alec closed his eyes in momentary defeat. Every time he thought he was getting somewhere it turned out to be a false alarm. He was so caught up in his thoughts that Alec didn't hear the scraping sound of plates being dragged across the table. When he opened his eyes he saw that Max had his plate of pancakes in front of him and was eating them with no sign that anything out of the ordinary had happened.

"Max?" Alec looked wildly around the diner for anyone else who could have switched the plates. There was no one near them, although Nelly was watching them openly now from the counter. Alec felt a wide smile break across his face and it felt so strange because he hadn't smiled like that in what felt like an age. "Max?" She ignored him and carried on eating the pancakes. Needing to touch her in some way, Alec placed a hand lightly on her bent dark head and stroked her silky hair for a moment, while tears stung the back of his eyes. "Small steps Maxie." He whispered. "Small steps." Taking her abandoned plate of bacon and eggs Alec started to eat the meal that Max apparently didn't want. For the first time, Max finished her whole breakfast and when she was done she sat back, leaving the fork carefully on the plate. Alec grinned. He knew he must look insane, grinning like an idiot because his - whatever Max was to him - had pinched his breakfast and eaten everything, but this was amazing to him.

"Can I get you anything else?" It was Nelly the waitress. Alec looked down at his breakfast, still smiling. He had hardly eaten any of it, stopping every few minutes to watch Max. It didn't matter though.

"No. Just the bill thank you." Nelly hesitated and looked directly at Max who was again staring blankly at some point in the distance.

"She's not right is she?" She asked sympathetically, her eyes kind. Alec looked surprised up at her. Most people if they noticed, just asked what was wrong with her. Nelly smiled at Alec in empathy. "Toys in the attic. My son Nathan was the same. Got back from war he did, dunno what happened out there but there are some things people just shouldn't go through and survive."

Alec nodded slowly. "She's getting better. She will get better." He repeated, squeezing Max's hand. "She's just been through a lot."

"Yeah." Nelly agreed. "She's a pretty little thing, she is. You take care of her." Alec nodded understandingly.

"I'm doing my best." The instruction from anyone else might have incited a defensive response but Nelly's tone was so gentle and kind that Alec couldn't help but respond likewise. Her words came from concern, nothing else. Alec cleared his throat as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, I don't suppose you make up packed lunches here do you?" They had a long bus ride ahead of them and Alec couldn't be sure they would stop anywhere decent for food.

Nelly smiled. "Well no we don't normally, but I think I could whip up something for the pair of you. You just wait here a few minutes." Alec smiled his thanks. It didn't take long for Nelly to reappear with a large bag filled with food. Alec raised his eyebrow in surprise. That was an awful lot of food. He stood and Nelly put the bag in his hand.

"There you go, I know it's a lot but that girl of yours needs feeding up a bit." She observed.

Alec reached into his pocket. "How much do I owe you?"

Nelly shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it, on the house." Alec started to protest but she shook off his objections. "Now, now, my husband and I own the place so we say who pays and who doesn't. You just look out for your girl here." Nelly leaned down and pulled Max to her feet before wrapping her arms around her in a motherly hug. Max didn't respond to the embrace but as Alec watched he saw her eyes flicker slightly again. Leaning back Nelly patted Max's thin cheek gently. "Young angel." She whispered before turning back to Alec. "You go on now then, before you miss your bus."

Alec took Max's hand in his. "Thank you." He said sincerely, he had never before known the kindness of strangers and it touched him deeply. Nelly simply nodded and watched as they left the diner to go back to the bus station.

TBC.