Valuable
by alecsangel
Summary: On a supply run, the ground literally caves in on Alec.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly, but Sandi and the plot. If only I owned Alec, but I think I'm pretty far back in that line. *sigh*
Author's Note: This is my first Dark Angel fic and I hope that you enjoy it. Special thanks to jt and Petal for betaing and for all the other nuns who read and let me know what you thought of it and encouraged me to continue writing. :) You're the best! Also, this might turn into part of a series of standalones. Let me know if you'd like me to continue on with the stories.
If you wish to see a banner that I made for this story, you can view it at: http://www.boomspeed.com/alecsangel/banner.BMP
Now, on with the story:
~~! Conference Room - Headquarters - Terminal City !~~
Max stood in the doorway and watched Alec closely. He was sitting by the table that currently held the maps of the Seattle sewer system. He and Mole were trying to find the most secure way out of Terminal City through the sewer system. Alec was going on a supply run. The fact that he was still injured from the Jam Pony incident, had led Mole to help him find a safe way out. Max frowned disapprovingly at them as they argued once more.
Neither one of them had realized that she was standing there, so she was taking the opportunity to decide if Alec was capable of leaving Terminal City right now. She shuddered at the thoughts of what White and his Familiars would do with him if they caught him right now. He wouldn't be able to get away. That much was certain from the fact that he'd nearly had his head taken off by some Familiar bitch.
Now, as he was hunched over the maps, he was only using his right hand to point out the flaws in the systems. His left arm was bent at the elbow and held tightly against his stomach. The bullet had gone straight through his left shoulder, but his collar bone had been broken. He didn't know that she knew, but Max had her ways of finding things out, especially since it had been nearly a week since he had been injured and he still looked like he was in pain. She had gone to the medic that had treated him when they had come to Terminal City and found out the details.
"Hey, have you two found a way out yet?" Max asked, finally announcing her presence.
"No," Alec said, while Mole answered, "Yes," at the same time. Alec sighed and rolled his eyes, nodding toward Mole.
"So, which is it?"
"Pretty Boy here, doesn't seem to think that going all the way to Sector 9 to get out is a good idea. He says that it'll take too long. I told him to leave earlier." Mole chewed on his cigar and looked at Max, hoping that she'd agree with him.
"You just don't wanna be down in the sewers that long," Max said, staring Alec down. She was waiting for him to challenge her when he shrugged his right shoulder at them. His wince was barely noticeable, but both Mole and Max saw it.
"That's it. You're not going anywhere. Mole, see if you can round up an able X5 that's had his bar code lasered off." Max gave the order and, for once, Mole didn't argue. He picked up his ever-present shot gun and left the two transgenics alone.
"Max, I'm alright." Alec protested, standing up and pacing the area behind the table.
"Define alright." Max challenged.
"Alright is," he started, only to be interrupted by Max.
"Having a broken collar bone and the remnants of a severe concussion. Is that what you were going to say?"
"No," he replied levelly, obviously angry that she knew his two secrets. He had sustained a concussion during his fight with the female Familiar. She had thrown him through yet another window and he had landed on top of a desk, banging his head forcefully against the hard wood surface. He had even lost his vision for a moment, but then they were fighting again and he didn't have time to dwell on it until they had made it to TC. Then, he had found his way to the makeshift infirmary where Sandi, the medic from his Manticore unit, had looked him over and patched him up. She now regularly checked up on him at least once every few hours, which he didn't want to admit that he liked. He liked having someone around that was concerned about him. Max hadn't mentioned his injury since the morning after the incident.
"Alec, face it. You're not ready." Max leaned against the table, sounding too cruel, even to herself.
"It's nice to know you care, Maxie." Alec turned toward the door and was already in the hallway before she spoke again.
"I do care, Alec."
Alec merely shook his head and continued down the hall toward the command center.
~~! Three Hours Later - Medical Center !~~
"Morphine," Alec mumbled to himself as he searched through the drug cabinet in the back of the medical center. There was no one around and he was hoping to be able to find a few pills so that he could get his supply run finished without having to feel the pesky problem of pain. He had convinced Mole that he was well enough to meet with his supplier and bring back the foodstuff and medical supplies that were needed. Besides, he had mentioned at the time, his supplier probably wouldn't deal with anyone but him anyway. Mole had conceded defeat and promised to keep Max out of the way until it was too late to recall him.
"Aha," he said, a little too loudly. His eyes searched for movement and while he didn't see anything, his sensitive hearing caught the sound of quick footsteps in his direction. He quickly swallowed two of the tablets that he found and pocketed four more, just in case. He had put the bottle back, just as someone walked up behind him.
"Alec, what are you doing?" Sandi asked, placing a hand on his right shoulder and turning him to face her.
"I'm going out to get some supplies and I was looking to see if you had anything to dull the pain for a little while." He was sticking with the truth. The truth was always good.
Her brown eyes widened at his statement. She shook her head at him and he almost laughed when her dirty blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail, kept hitting her in the face. However, he sensed that this was not the time to laugh when a stern expression overtook her face.
"You're what? Oh, no, you're not." She turned and started for the door, mumbling to herself about his stupidity.
"Sandi, I have to. Sandi, stop for a second." He hurried over and stood in front of her, effectively blocking her exit. He raised his right hand in a stop gesture.
"You certainly don't 'have to' and you're certainly not going to." She replied, pushing against his chest in an effort to move him.
"Sandi, we're dealing with my supplier. He's not going to meet with just anyone. He's going to want to meet with me and only me. I have to go."
She considered his words for a second. Then, she whispered, "We don't need the supplies that bad." It was her last-ditch attempt to dissuade him from going and she knew that it wouldn't work. They really did need the supplies and she knew that he was going to have to be the one to go. Suppliers were tricky people who only liked to deal with the same person. Damn them, she thought to herself.
"You know I know you know we do need them. Besides, it's an easy in-easy out job. Piece of proverbial cake." He grinned down at her, hoping to convey the urgency of the situation while still being his usual smart ass self.
"I don't suppose it would matter if I hit you over the head and knocked you unconscious." She allowed him a small smile as she turned around and headed back toward the drug cabinet.
"Nah, it takes more than that to keep me down." He replied, following her and praying that she wouldn't try to inject him with something, but he wasn't about to tell her that he'd already taken morphine. She really would whack him over the head and never let him out of her sight again.
"It wouldn't take much to keep you down right now." She muttered under her breath, knowing that he could probably hear her. "Roll up your sleeve." She stated before he could say anything.
Alec eyes went wide before he stuttered, "Can't you just give me some pills."
"An injection would work faster," she told him, turning to face him, a syringe in one hand and a vial in the other. "Look, I know you hate needles, Alec, but if you want something that's going to work now, then this is it."
"Please, don't, Sandi." He gave his best puppy-dog face, making sure to pout his lips. He really hated needles, but he wouldn't have minded the shot under any other circumstances.
"Fine, but don't come running to me before you leave asking for something because this isn't working yet." She told him, grabbing a bottle of pills and handing him two.
"Thanks," he said, popping them in his mouth and pretending to swallow them. When she turned around to replace the pill bottle back onto its shelf, he quickly removed the pills from his mouth and stuck them in his pocket.
"Now, get out of here before I really do hit you over the head for pulling something like this."
"Yes, ma'am." He gave her a mock salute and headed out the door, on his way back to headquarters to finalize plans with Mole.
~~! One Hour Later - Sewer System !~~
Alec trudged toward Sector 9, having given in to Mole's suggestion since he had promised to keep Max away from Alec while they were preparing for this mission. The only bright side was that the morphine had kicked in and he wasn't feeling any pain.
A loud rumbling sound caused Alec to pause and duck his head instinctively. He looked toward the ceiling, wondering what was going on above him.
"Mole, it's Alec. Do you copy? Over." Alec spoke into the transmitter on his wrist. He didn't want to have to worry about a headset, so he had asked for a wrist transmitter that looked like a watch. Sandi had come to headquarters and ask the he wear a transmitter in case of an emergency. He understood that it was her way of being big sisterly and making sure that he was alright.
"Yeah, Alec. What do you need? Over." Mole's gruff voice came over Alec's earpiece. He opted for the security of an earpiece so that no one could overhear any communications between him and headquarters. However, the only earpieces that Dix had been able to find didn't have voice capabilities too, so he'd rigged the earpiece up with Alec's wrist transmitter, offering the transgenic what he wanted in communications equipment.
"There's something going on above me. Any idea what it could be? Over." The rumbling had ceased for a moment, but returned once again, louder if that was possible.
"Shit!" Alec heard the curse over the radio as he watched a large crack appear above him. He had just dived for the cover of an old pipe when the ceiling of the sewer caved in and buried him in cement and dirt. Blackness stole his vision and Alec was unconscious.
~~! Headquarters !~~
"Shit!" Mole nearly shouted as he looked over Dix's shoulder at the computer screen. Demolition of an old apartment building was occurring above Alec's current position. They turned around to look at the TV and watched the breaking news as the building and some of the street caved into the sewer below; the sewer where Alec had no doubt been standing moments before.
"Alec? Alec, can you hear me? Over." Mole said into his microphone. "Alec? Over." Mole shook his head sadly before turning around and issuing orders. "Dix, call the medical building. Get the head honcho over here ASAP. Luke, see if you can find Max and tell her to come here now."
Within five minutes, Max and Mole were crouching over maps of Seattle and the sewers and trying to figure out the best way to get Alec out. Sandi was down in the medical building, rounding up a couple of extra medics and making a medpack based on injuries she thought Alec might have.
She ran through the door a few minutes later, a large duffle bag on her back and two teenage X6's following her. She looked up at them and asked, "Are we ready to go?"
"Let's head out." Max nodded and turned to the five X5 males standing behind her. She had sent for at least five able-bodied X-series just in case they had to dig him out. She hoped that Alec was okay. She had meant it earlier when she told him that she cared for him. Hell, she may even love him. In fact, her heart was telling her that she did love him, but her mind wasn't allowing her to acknowledge her feelings yet.
~~! Sewers !~~
Alec awoke to darkness. He quickly moved his hand to his face and felt his eyelids blinking open and shut. Panicking, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small flashlight and flicked the switch to on. Sighing with relief when his vision returned with the light, he leaned back and studied his surroundings. He was lying on his left side in an old, dry sewer pipe. The pipe itself was about four feet high and it extended back about five feet to a dead end, where concrete had been poured into it years before forming a solid wall.
His legs were covered in dirt up to his knees. He deduced that there must have been dirt between the street and the sewer pipes, because he remembered a lot of dirt raining down on him with the concrete. He sat up and began moving the dirt away from his legs. He came across several large pieces of concrete before he uncovered his feet. Gently, using his hands to pull himself backwards, he moved his feet away from the rubble. He felt a slight twinge of pain in his left shoulder, but the morphine was still pumping through his blood system, dulling all his pain.
Examining his legs, he found several large contusions and lacerations marring the area that had been buried. He didn't feel any broken bones, but he decided to be careful with his legs. He wasn't sure how much the morphine was dulling his pain, but his shoulder felt fine now and earlier it had been throbbing painfully. He moved back a little ways and found his back against the concrete wall. He leaned against it and looked down at his wrist, remembering the transmitter.
"Mole, can you hear me? Mole? Over." He listened for a few minutes, and then repeated his pleas again.
Sighing, he leaned back and searched the rest of his body for injuries. He found a laceration on the side of his forehead that was bleeding and he pressed a piece of his T-shirt to it to help stop the bleeding. His head was hurting and he felt slightly dizzy. Shrugging it off as a complication of his momentary loss of consciousness, he looked through his pockets to take inventory of what he had with him. There was no way of knowing when someone would come for him or how long it would take for them to get him out. He needed to know what he had on his person. It was the first rule that Manticore taught you when in such a situation. Always be prepared, also sprung to Alec's mind, but he knew that he wasn't prepared for this. His earlier words to Sandi about this being an easy in-easy out job haunted his thoughts as he spread out the items that he found beside him.
His pocket knife, a lighter, his wallet, the pills that he had taken from the Medical Center earlier, and an envelope of money that he was going to pay for the supplies with were all that he could find. He sprinkled some pocket lint over the items as he thought about them. They were of no use to him right now. He sighed and curled into a ball on the floor, flicking off the flashlight. There was nothing he could do right now and he needed to conserve the batteries. His headache was getting worse, so he closed his eyes and tried to drift off into sleep.
The crackling of his earpiece woke him a while later. Alec reached for his wrist transmitter and didn't hesitate to speak into it. "Is someone there? Mole?" Alec asked, coughing slightly. He was hot and the air around him seemed to be stifling. He wondered how long he'd been stuck in the small space and mentally berated himself for not wearing a watch.
"Alec?" A familiar voice came through his earpiece but the rest of the words were garbled by static. Either Mole was close or his earpiece had been damaged. The latter was certainly a possibility, but then again, so was the former.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" Alec called him, sitting up before he remembered exactly where he was and knocking his head against the top of the pipe. The sound was loud in the confined space and Alec fell back down on his back. He rubbed his head and cursed loudly.
"Alec, can ... hear me? ... you ... okay?" Max's voice this time and it faded out again. Alec swore again.
"I'm in a pipe on the east side of the tunnel. If you can hear me, acknowledge. Over." He remembered to say 'over' although he was certain that it no longer mattered. He prayed to some higher power that they would dig him out soon.
"Are ... okay?" Sandi's concerned voice came over the transmitter.
"I'm alright. Where are you guys?" Alec winced at his choice of words, knowing that neither Max nor Sandi would believe him. When he said he was alright, it usually meant just the opposite.
"Close." Max's voice was anxious and she was obviously worried about him now. Now, she cares, when she truly thinks I'm hurt. Not when I'm physically standing in front of her with blood dripping down my arm, but when I use the word 'alright.' Alec's thoughts were making him angry. He forced himself to calm down and listen for them. That's when he heard it. The sound of concrete being tossed aside and muffled voices. They were close.
"Alec?" Sandi asked, when he was silent for a long time.
"I hear you coming." He replied. His headache was back and this time he was feeling extremely nauseous. He tried not to move so that he wouldn't vomit his lunch into the small space.
"Talk ... me. Tell ... wrong." Static was still overtaking her voice, but he got the gist of what she was saying. He swallowed hard and reached up to rub his temples.
"Head hurts." He stopped speaking, feeling his stomach begin to rebel against his efforts to make it stay still. "Hurry." He whispered, curling himself into a tighter ball.
Finally, several minutes later, light began to shine through onto his still form. A flashlight was shined at him and he could hear Sandi's voice calling out to him. She was by his side in an instant and Alec lifted his head to see that she had squeezed through the rubble to get to him because the others were still digging.
"Alec, talk to me. Tell me what hurts." She gently ran her hands over his head, encountering the head wound.
"Head hurts. I feel like I'm going to vomit." He replied.
"We need to get him out of there now!" Mole shouted from outside.
"Just a minute." Sandi called back to him.
"Lady," Mole said, appearing at her side, "we ain't got a minute." He reached out and pulled Alec toward him and out of the pipe. Alec cried out, but otherwise remained silent. Mole threw the younger transgenic over his shoulder and started running down the tunnel. The sound of Alec vomiting caused Mole to curse but he kept moving. "Come on!" He shouted behind him and the others followed him just as the rest of the street caved in where they had been standing.
~~! Medical Center - Next Morning !~~
Alec awoke to the feeling of someone kissing his forehead. His eyes opened to find Max standing by his bed. He closed his eyes and opened them again. They widened slightly as he was surprised to actually find Max still standing there, smiling at him.
"Good morning."
"Ummm, good morning, Max." He replied, pinching himself to make sure that he was actually awake.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, sitting in the chair by his bed.
"Like a city fell on me." He grinned at her. No matter what was going on between them, he took comfort in the fact that she was at his bedside.
"Only on your legs." She looked down at his legs, knowing that they were bandaged tightly. He'd lost quite a bit of blood due to the cuts on his lower legs. No bones were broken, but they were going to be sore for a few days.
"Then why does my head feel like it was part of that fight?" Alec rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes.
"Because you were the idiot that took morphine without telling anyone." She smacked his shoulder and he opened his eyes, looking hurt.
"Ow." He muttered, more to let her know that it had actually hurt than anything. "Cheap shot, but then again, you don't care about me."
"Alec, I really do care about you. I hate that you think that I don't." She reached up and took hold of his hand.
He looked down at their clasp hands and thought about how to respond to that. "Max, it really hurt when you didn't even ask me how I was doing. It hurt even more yesterday, when you tried to order me out of doing my job. And yes, getting supplies is my job. But, that's not the point. I need to know that you really care about me, because," he paused, unsure about whether or not to continue, "I care about you a lot."
Max let his words roll around in her head and in her heart. Not being able to find him in the sewer had taken it's toll on her emotions and she had sorted them out while he had been sleeping. She now knew what she wanted, and she wanted him. Instead of speaking however, she moved closer to him and captured his lips with hers. He accepted her kiss and deepened it, feeling connected with her now.
The sound of the door opening and the clearing of a throat caused them to pull apart reluctantly. Sandi walked in, pausing in the doorway when she saw them in such a compromising position. Finally she walked fully into the room and was followed closely by Mole.
"Look who's awake." Sandi smiled, but her voice sounded like she was agitated.
"Hi, Sandi." He smiled at her, hoping that she wasn't mad at him about the morphine thing, but knowing deep down that she would be. "Hey, Mole," he nodded toward the lizard man, who moved to stand at the foot of his bed.
Sandi leaned over him to check his pulse. She mentally made a note of it before looking up at his face. He was grinning and she couldn't take it anymore. Pointing her index finger at him, she poked him with it as she spoke. "Don't you EVER do that again. Do you hear me? Don't you ever take medication without telling anyone ever again. I could have killed you last night, Alec. I almost did, in fact."
Alec looked at Max and Mole for help, but they stared back at him with concern and a little bit of anger in their eyes. He had passed out somewhere between the cave in site and the Medical Center and hadn't woken up until a few moments ago, so he didn't have a clue what happened the night before.
"I'm sorry," he stuttered, not sure what to say.
"Don't be sorry. Just promise me that you'll never do it again." Sandi's eyes filled with tears and Alec found himself nodding.
"I promise." He watched her walk out of his room and turned to look at Max and Mole.
"You scared us last night, Alec. Sandi gave you some routine medication and it stopped your heart. It turned out to be because you had taken morphine, which you mumbled when you were barely conscious after we got you resuscitated. She was really upset by it." Max told him, squeezing the hand that she was holding.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you two kids alone," Mole said, moving towards the door. He turned back to look pointedly at Alec and said, "I was just going to tell you that you owe me a new shirt and pair of pants." Mole chewed on his cigar as he allowed a grin to show on his face.
Alec laughed, remembering how he had ruined Mole's clothes. "I'll make sure to get on that as soon as I get sprung from here."
Mole nodded and headed out the door, satisfied that Alec would be alright. However he stopped and turned around when Alec spoke.
"Thanks for coming after me." Alec's voice held sincerity and Mole knew that the younger man appreciated his help.
"You're valuable, Pretty Boy. Get used to it." Alec grinned and leaned back against his pillows, for once believing that he really was valuable.
"Yeah, Pretty Boy," Max grinned up at him, "you're valuable to me." She leaned forward and kissed him again, taking in his taste, his scent, everything about him. He responded by pulling her up onto the bed with him and deepening the kiss.
"Good to know," he pulled back slightly so that he could speak before kissing her once again.
~~! THE END !~~