TITLE: In The Still Of The Night
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman
EMAIL: wtsw02889@Blueyonder.co.uk
WEBSITE: Of Dreams & Reality - http://DreaJackman.cjb.net/
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: When Alec experiences the violence of seizures for the first time, it's up to Max to
provide the strength and support needed to help him get through the night.
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee
(Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!
A/N: I'm on a roll, don't stop me now, lol. This story's coming at one chapter a day so far so I
guess all that's left to be said for those of you who take the time to read A/N's is thanks. The
number of times peeps ask for more chapters in reviews of other stories is only slightly annoying
when you've already said something like '3rd of 5' or last chapter coming soon. There IS more
after this, as much as I like the ending here I still SO wanna have a deep conversation....or
rather I want Max and Alec to, lol. Yeah, that is what I mean. Hope you like this cause I didn't
pause to check from start to finish, it just sorta appeared on the page in a mad fit of writing :)
Oh and I'm ignoring the 'fix' Manticore performed on it's X5's after the escape. Don't hit me :)
In The Still Of The Night
Clearing the sector checkpoints on the way to Alec's wasn't an easy task. Most of the officers
were only concerned about the condition of Max's companion, but with a few casual remarks the
likes of 'can't hold his liquor', the pair made it through eventually.
By the time they stood inside Alec's apartment, Alec could bearly stand. While Max searched
his pockets for the keys to his new home, he stood slumped against the wall alongside. His
body still trembled and shook, despite the enormous volume of effort he was putting into self
control. He finally became aware of Max tugging on his arm and instinctively raised it, feeling
her stronger frame slip underneath and close around his from the side as she pulled his weight
to lean on her.
"Let's get you inside," she almost whispered a she led him slowly inside.
Again Alec didn't respond and Max only grew more concerned. If even he was quiet, no smart
remark or typical comment for the situation, then it really must be bad. She decided that rest
was a better idea because at least that way she'd have a chance to calm him.
Taking him into the bedroom at the other side of the apartment, Max led Alec into the darkened
room. Night vision kicked in and she was able to locate and switch on the bedside light. Setting
him down on the bed, she stepped back to check him over. She watched as the inner struggle
she was all to familiar with played across his facial features. The pain, confusion, concentration
in vain attempts to regain control. If this was really his first, she could only wonder what exactly
was going through his mind.
Reaching out tentatively, Max touched his chin, lightly drawing his blind downward gaze up to
face her. His eyes slowly opened and found her, not her eyes but some spot on her lower lip.
Max could feel the tremors growing steadily beneath her touch and Alec's breathing became
noticeably more laboured. As his body jerked against her, Max inhaled almost as sharply as he
had and she sprang into action.
"I'll be right back okay?"
Her voice was soft, full of sympathy for his cause, but Alec bearly heard the words as his
heartbeat pounded fiercely in his ears.
Leaving him alone in his room, Max crossed the expanse of apartment considered the living
room and found her jacket lying exactly where she'd tossed it down on the sofa earlier that
evening. Within seconds she had retrieved the small bottle of pills from her inner pocket and
was in the kitchen raiding Alec's fridge. Not willing to waste time, she took the carton of milk and
headed straight back to the bedroom.
Upon entering she heard a soft thump followed by Alec's rapid breathing and saw that the bed
was empty.
"Alec?"
When her senses finally found him, milliseconds too long as far as she was concerned, he was
slumped on the floor on the far side of the room. Making haste, Max went to him and knelt by his
side, momentarily setting her goods aside.
Alec lay on his side facing away from her, his large frame of six feet huddled, knees drawn up to
his chest as close as he could manage. In the foetal position he was in, Max could see just how
deeply the unsettling feeling was affecting him. The tremors were now in full force and
hammering through his body at a painful rate. Despite how she knew he must have felt, Max
had to force him to move. His life depended on it.
"Alec, c'mon I need you to sit up," she pleaded, already beginning to turn him toward her.
Alec's stance opened up as Max rolled him onto his back, her face coming into his line of sight
finally. His troubled eyes immediately sought hers and locked with the comfort of her darkened
depths, his posture reminiscent of Ben's final moments in her arms. The after thought unsettled
her, but she managed to shake it off and focus on the man that needed her and not the ghost
that had.
"Max," he said, voice already beginning to break as his lower lip trembled slightly. He shivered
in her arms again and his eyes searched hers for some sign of truth. "What's happening to me?"
Max's heart wrenched in her chest as Alec's simple, yet desperate question resonated in her
ears. His voice betrayed feelings she found reflected equally as strong in his eyes. He was
afraid.
"Don't worry," she offered, trying to sound as assured as he needed her to be at that moment.
"We can deal with this."
Attempting to help him sit up, she watched him struggle to slide around till his back was leaning
against the bed behind them. It took more effort than Alec felt capable of providing and he
gasped for breath as he continued to shake more and more. It was true, the almighty smart ass
himself had been rendered silent and afraid, so what? This was a whole new experience almost
specifically designed to sap his strength, cause him pain and make him feel vulnerable. What
wasn't there to hate or fear in that? He didn't want any of it.
"I can't," he protested in defeat.
"Maybe not, but we can," Max corrected him.
Against the forceful spasms in his muscles, Alec's eyes again found hers as once more he found
himself in awe of her compassion. Protest over, he lowered his head in compliance.
"Here," she said reaching for the tryptophan, "I need you to take these."
Alec almost hungrily downed the pills Max handed him and guzzled at the carton of milk. The
fluid seemed to revive his parched throat as he drank greedily, only stopping when more of the
liquid began to trickle from his lips than managed to go down.
Max watched as Alec's shivering became more and more violent. It'd take a while for the
tryptophan to be absorbed from the sources he'd just ingested and until it kicked in, she could
see there was definitely more to come and of a much worse nature. Casting her attention back
towards the bed above, she looked back to Alec, who now sat before her, eyes closed tightly
once again.
Just like her, he'd left his jacket home that evening, the pair preferring a cool spring Seattle
night's ride to being cooped up. She wore light clothing, jeans and a short-sleeved top while
Alec wore similar; jeans and a blue, thin, long-sleeved top. For brief seconds she watched as
his chest heaved beneath the thin material, every breath made with extra effort as even his
reserves of genetically-given strength were slowly and achingly depleted.
Quietly reaching down she drew first Alec's left leg out toward her, then his right, removing one
by one the heavy boots he'd worn. Before shifting herself, she gently reached out and wiped
away remnants of tryptophan-rich milk from where it had spilled from his lips. His skin felt hot
even as his body instinctively shivered against her soft touch. Standing up she kicked her own
shoes off and offered him her hand.
Again Alec followed her guidance, trusting her directions implicitly as he sought comfort from the
smallest of her actions. Collapsing onto the bed he faced away from Max, curling up into a
loose, foetal position once more. His eyelids felt heavy and exhaustion was quickly creeping
over his aching body. When he dimly felt the mattress beneath him dip down as it adjusted to
Max's weight behind him, he was still a little surprised that someone was there for him at all.
Unable to talk, to ask Max all the questions he found himself asking and express the immense
thanks he felt at her presence, Alec just lay there feeling more helpless than he'd ever felt in his
life. Weakness was a liability he'd been taught never to reveal to a soul and yet there he was, in
all his glory; the great Manticore soldier, weak as a kitten and more scared than he'd ever been
in his life.
It wasn't just the seizure that made them afraid, Max understood that all too well. They were
trained to always be in control of their situation and the experience seizures provided left them
with nothing of the sort. They'd also been trained to avoid being weak, showing others fear and
even though there was always the underlying ideal of 'never abandon your unit', there was
always the unspoken understanding that they were built perfect, not expected to need anything
or anyone.
'Stay with me, please?' she thought.
Max could remember the request she'd made of Logan the night her seizure had taken her there
at the penthouse. Again it seemed appropriate and against all previous expectation of their
situation, Max leaned over Alec's right ear as she whispered to him on a soft, comforting breath.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Alec felt a new wash of relief surge through him even as violent tremors shook him an caused
him to convulse against the solid presence behind him. Opening his eyes briefly he registered
that Max had turned out the light by the bed and then he allowed them to flutter closed again.
The wave of comfort grew as he felt Max's smaller frame curl up behind him, her arm reaching
around him as her body spooned against his. Arm resting firmly over his and holding his body
to her protectively close with her hand splayed out over his chest, she settled down.
In her new position, she assigned herself to a duty of comfort and support, feeling every inhaled
breath and every trespassing quiver. Her body rocked with Alec's against the tremors and Max
lay there, in the gentle still of the night, silently riding out the seizure with him.
WRITTEN BY: Drea Jackman
EMAIL: wtsw02889@Blueyonder.co.uk
WEBSITE: Of Dreams & Reality - http://DreaJackman.cjb.net/
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: When Alec experiences the violence of seizures for the first time, it's up to Max to
provide the strength and support needed to help him get through the night.
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee
(Cameron Eglee Productions) and Dark Angel itself belongs to FOX...it's just not fair is it? *Sob*
ARCHIVE: If I've said yes before I'll say it again, otherwise email me 'n' lemme know.
FEEDBACK: Don't make me beg, please? ...D'OH!
A/N: I'm on a roll, don't stop me now, lol. This story's coming at one chapter a day so far so I
guess all that's left to be said for those of you who take the time to read A/N's is thanks. The
number of times peeps ask for more chapters in reviews of other stories is only slightly annoying
when you've already said something like '3rd of 5' or last chapter coming soon. There IS more
after this, as much as I like the ending here I still SO wanna have a deep conversation....or
rather I want Max and Alec to, lol. Yeah, that is what I mean. Hope you like this cause I didn't
pause to check from start to finish, it just sorta appeared on the page in a mad fit of writing :)
Oh and I'm ignoring the 'fix' Manticore performed on it's X5's after the escape. Don't hit me :)
In The Still Of The Night
Clearing the sector checkpoints on the way to Alec's wasn't an easy task. Most of the officers
were only concerned about the condition of Max's companion, but with a few casual remarks the
likes of 'can't hold his liquor', the pair made it through eventually.
By the time they stood inside Alec's apartment, Alec could bearly stand. While Max searched
his pockets for the keys to his new home, he stood slumped against the wall alongside. His
body still trembled and shook, despite the enormous volume of effort he was putting into self
control. He finally became aware of Max tugging on his arm and instinctively raised it, feeling
her stronger frame slip underneath and close around his from the side as she pulled his weight
to lean on her.
"Let's get you inside," she almost whispered a she led him slowly inside.
Again Alec didn't respond and Max only grew more concerned. If even he was quiet, no smart
remark or typical comment for the situation, then it really must be bad. She decided that rest
was a better idea because at least that way she'd have a chance to calm him.
Taking him into the bedroom at the other side of the apartment, Max led Alec into the darkened
room. Night vision kicked in and she was able to locate and switch on the bedside light. Setting
him down on the bed, she stepped back to check him over. She watched as the inner struggle
she was all to familiar with played across his facial features. The pain, confusion, concentration
in vain attempts to regain control. If this was really his first, she could only wonder what exactly
was going through his mind.
Reaching out tentatively, Max touched his chin, lightly drawing his blind downward gaze up to
face her. His eyes slowly opened and found her, not her eyes but some spot on her lower lip.
Max could feel the tremors growing steadily beneath her touch and Alec's breathing became
noticeably more laboured. As his body jerked against her, Max inhaled almost as sharply as he
had and she sprang into action.
"I'll be right back okay?"
Her voice was soft, full of sympathy for his cause, but Alec bearly heard the words as his
heartbeat pounded fiercely in his ears.
Leaving him alone in his room, Max crossed the expanse of apartment considered the living
room and found her jacket lying exactly where she'd tossed it down on the sofa earlier that
evening. Within seconds she had retrieved the small bottle of pills from her inner pocket and
was in the kitchen raiding Alec's fridge. Not willing to waste time, she took the carton of milk and
headed straight back to the bedroom.
Upon entering she heard a soft thump followed by Alec's rapid breathing and saw that the bed
was empty.
"Alec?"
When her senses finally found him, milliseconds too long as far as she was concerned, he was
slumped on the floor on the far side of the room. Making haste, Max went to him and knelt by his
side, momentarily setting her goods aside.
Alec lay on his side facing away from her, his large frame of six feet huddled, knees drawn up to
his chest as close as he could manage. In the foetal position he was in, Max could see just how
deeply the unsettling feeling was affecting him. The tremors were now in full force and
hammering through his body at a painful rate. Despite how she knew he must have felt, Max
had to force him to move. His life depended on it.
"Alec, c'mon I need you to sit up," she pleaded, already beginning to turn him toward her.
Alec's stance opened up as Max rolled him onto his back, her face coming into his line of sight
finally. His troubled eyes immediately sought hers and locked with the comfort of her darkened
depths, his posture reminiscent of Ben's final moments in her arms. The after thought unsettled
her, but she managed to shake it off and focus on the man that needed her and not the ghost
that had.
"Max," he said, voice already beginning to break as his lower lip trembled slightly. He shivered
in her arms again and his eyes searched hers for some sign of truth. "What's happening to me?"
Max's heart wrenched in her chest as Alec's simple, yet desperate question resonated in her
ears. His voice betrayed feelings she found reflected equally as strong in his eyes. He was
afraid.
"Don't worry," she offered, trying to sound as assured as he needed her to be at that moment.
"We can deal with this."
Attempting to help him sit up, she watched him struggle to slide around till his back was leaning
against the bed behind them. It took more effort than Alec felt capable of providing and he
gasped for breath as he continued to shake more and more. It was true, the almighty smart ass
himself had been rendered silent and afraid, so what? This was a whole new experience almost
specifically designed to sap his strength, cause him pain and make him feel vulnerable. What
wasn't there to hate or fear in that? He didn't want any of it.
"I can't," he protested in defeat.
"Maybe not, but we can," Max corrected him.
Against the forceful spasms in his muscles, Alec's eyes again found hers as once more he found
himself in awe of her compassion. Protest over, he lowered his head in compliance.
"Here," she said reaching for the tryptophan, "I need you to take these."
Alec almost hungrily downed the pills Max handed him and guzzled at the carton of milk. The
fluid seemed to revive his parched throat as he drank greedily, only stopping when more of the
liquid began to trickle from his lips than managed to go down.
Max watched as Alec's shivering became more and more violent. It'd take a while for the
tryptophan to be absorbed from the sources he'd just ingested and until it kicked in, she could
see there was definitely more to come and of a much worse nature. Casting her attention back
towards the bed above, she looked back to Alec, who now sat before her, eyes closed tightly
once again.
Just like her, he'd left his jacket home that evening, the pair preferring a cool spring Seattle
night's ride to being cooped up. She wore light clothing, jeans and a short-sleeved top while
Alec wore similar; jeans and a blue, thin, long-sleeved top. For brief seconds she watched as
his chest heaved beneath the thin material, every breath made with extra effort as even his
reserves of genetically-given strength were slowly and achingly depleted.
Quietly reaching down she drew first Alec's left leg out toward her, then his right, removing one
by one the heavy boots he'd worn. Before shifting herself, she gently reached out and wiped
away remnants of tryptophan-rich milk from where it had spilled from his lips. His skin felt hot
even as his body instinctively shivered against her soft touch. Standing up she kicked her own
shoes off and offered him her hand.
Again Alec followed her guidance, trusting her directions implicitly as he sought comfort from the
smallest of her actions. Collapsing onto the bed he faced away from Max, curling up into a
loose, foetal position once more. His eyelids felt heavy and exhaustion was quickly creeping
over his aching body. When he dimly felt the mattress beneath him dip down as it adjusted to
Max's weight behind him, he was still a little surprised that someone was there for him at all.
Unable to talk, to ask Max all the questions he found himself asking and express the immense
thanks he felt at her presence, Alec just lay there feeling more helpless than he'd ever felt in his
life. Weakness was a liability he'd been taught never to reveal to a soul and yet there he was, in
all his glory; the great Manticore soldier, weak as a kitten and more scared than he'd ever been
in his life.
It wasn't just the seizure that made them afraid, Max understood that all too well. They were
trained to always be in control of their situation and the experience seizures provided left them
with nothing of the sort. They'd also been trained to avoid being weak, showing others fear and
even though there was always the underlying ideal of 'never abandon your unit', there was
always the unspoken understanding that they were built perfect, not expected to need anything
or anyone.
'Stay with me, please?' she thought.
Max could remember the request she'd made of Logan the night her seizure had taken her there
at the penthouse. Again it seemed appropriate and against all previous expectation of their
situation, Max leaned over Alec's right ear as she whispered to him on a soft, comforting breath.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Alec felt a new wash of relief surge through him even as violent tremors shook him an caused
him to convulse against the solid presence behind him. Opening his eyes briefly he registered
that Max had turned out the light by the bed and then he allowed them to flutter closed again.
The wave of comfort grew as he felt Max's smaller frame curl up behind him, her arm reaching
around him as her body spooned against his. Arm resting firmly over his and holding his body
to her protectively close with her hand splayed out over his chest, she settled down.
In her new position, she assigned herself to a duty of comfort and support, feeling every inhaled
breath and every trespassing quiver. Her body rocked with Alec's against the tremors and Max
lay there, in the gentle still of the night, silently riding out the seizure with him.