Disclaimer: Nope, last time I looked in a mirror I wasn't James Cameron or anyone else lucky enough to own Dark Angel.

Summary: Sequel to "Then it comes to be." The cult loonies are gone but the transgenics have other problems to deal with, not to mention a whole civilization to build. M/A

Rating: R because of occasional violence and sex.

A/N: The NC-17 version of this story is posted at http://nunswithpens.hyperboards.com/.

----

Leda's eyes followed Alec as he wandered around the lab attached to the infirmary, peering at the equipment. His clothes were soaked from the rain. Droplets of water dripped from his hair and ran down his face. Idly he combed his fingers through his hair, mussing it up. Leda suppressed the urge to reach out and smooth it down for him.

Finally he turned to face her. His customary grin was firmly in place, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He seemed closed in on himself, remote. "I need a favour."

"Anything."

"I need you to do some research for me."

"On?"

"The love bug virus."

Leda's eyes went wide in surprise. "Why? Logan's gone."

"Is he?"

Leda scrutinized Alec. His face was perfectly blank, his eyes empty of all emotion. He stood almost at attention. That enforced stillness, so unlike him, indicated just how much it mattered to him. Leda felt indignant that Max could leave Alec with any doubts whatsoever. "Alec, you don't need to do this. Max chose you. She's not going back to him."

"Because she can't."

"Not even if she could," Leda said with conviction.

"You don't know that for sure. Max doesn't even know. Because she doesn't have a choice."

"But she did have a choice," Leda argued. "She could've chosen to wait, and she didn't."

"I want the cure." Alec crossed his arms and glowered at her, his weight planted on both feet. Clearly he wasn't going to accept "no" for an answer.

Leda sighed and gave in to the inevitable. "Fine. What do I tell Max?"

Alec gave her a ghost of a smile. "Tell her you want to run more tests. Isn't that what doctors do?"

"She's gonna kick your ass for doubting her."

"Let her. With Max, punching is a sign of affection," he said, striving to act like his old, sarcastic self.

Leda pounced on the opening he gave her. "Which proves my point. Max must be madly in love with you, cuz all she's ever done is smack your ass since the day you two met. And call me crazy, but I very much doubt she's ever hit Logan."

Alec had no answer for that. He ran his hand through his hair and looked away.

"You two were made for each other," she said softly. "You'd have to be blind not to see it."

"Just do it," he said as he spun on his heel and headed for the door.

----*----

"Hey. It's just me," Max announced as she walked through the front door of Father's house the next day. "Did you get the information?" She felt a twinge of nervousness at seeing Logan again after everything that had happened between them. Her heart raced slightly and she found she didn't know what to do with her hands. Max tended to avoid awkward encounters with ex-boyfriends like the plague, and now she had no idea how to act or talk. *What do I do? Pretend none of it ever happened? Make a joke? Grab the file and run?* She sighed.

Max's stomach rumbled. It was nearly dinnertime, and whatever Logan was making for his supper smelled good. She wandered through the kitchen and into the dining room. She could hear a piano concerto playing on the stereo in the living room. The house was oddly still and dark. The only illumination came from the two lit candles on the dining room table. Max looked around in dismay. The table had been set for a romantic dinner for two with fine china and crystal goblets. A dozen fresh roses in a vase on the buffet perfumed the air. She heard Logan's footsteps behind her. She whipped around to face him. "What's this?" she demanded.

"I thought you might be hungry." He gestured to the ice bucket at the end of the table. "I found a bottle of pre-Pulse Chardonnay. Join me for a glass?" He reached for the opener, an eager smile on his face.

She hugged her arms to her chest, uncertain how to respond. If Logan was harbouring any hopes that they would be reunited, he had to be disabused of it and quickly. For both their sakes. And yet, the Logan she used to know was exactly the type of guy who would make someone dinner, just out of simple courtesy. How many times had the transgenics raided his fridge and he'd never complained? Max desperately wished Original Cindy was nearby for consultation. Max had never been very adept at navigating her way through relationships. She hesitated, and then settled for stating the obvious. "Logan, I don't have time for this."

Hurt and disappointment flashed across his face. "Max, I just wanted to do something nice for you. You always liked my cooking. And I bet you haven't had a decent meal in weeks."

That stung. As if she wasn't capable of taking care of herself without him around to keep an eye on her. "If I was in the mood for a romantic dinner, I'd have it with Alec," she said bluntly, pointing at the table.

"I just wanted us to get back to the way things were between us. Before the virus, before Manticore. Before Alec got in the way." He practically spat out his rival's name. His lips curled into a faint sneer.

Max's eyes narrowed. "Funny, I don't see a time machine. Which is the only way we can go back to what we were. Now do you have that information for me or not?" *Why won't he just let me go? What did we have that was worth holding on to so tightly?*

"Yeah, I have it," he said sullenly. But he made no move to go fetch the file.

"Logan!" she said in exasperation. "You offered to help us."

"I wanted us to spend some time together, Max. You used to like my company."

*This is exactly how it started before,* she realized. * Our entire relationship was about what HE wanted from me. I'll make you dinner Max, if you do me a favour. I'll help you find your family, if you drop everything and come running when I call. I'll love you, if you become the person I want you to be. It was always about him.*

Max felt the bitter sting of disillusionment. Logan had always seemed far above her, a king among knaves. She had deeply admired his dedication to the Eyes Only cause and his willingness to help others without counting the cost to himself. She'd yearned to follow his lead and be something more than just the blind, cold, dutiful killer Manticore wanted her to be. Now his actions revealed the scheming selfishness that lay at the core of his being. She felt dirty by association. "You don't help people because you expect something in return. You do it because it's the right thing to do. You taught me that, remember?"

"I also taught you to only go after the bad guys," he snapped, disdainfully.

"Which is why I need your help!" She threw up her hands. She seethed with anger that he would dare to look down on her for doing what she had to to protect her people, especially after the way he was behaving tonight. "Do you have the file or not? Cuz if you don't, I'm outta here."

"You need me, Max," he insisted.

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean I owe you a date in exchange. Or whatever else you were hoping for. I'm not gonna fall into that trap again, Logan. I'm done with our little quid pro quo deals. When did you ever hold up your end of the bargain? Either help us because it's the right thing to do, Mr. Eyes Only, or don't." Max planted her hands on her hips and stared him down.

He stalked past her into the living room and snatched a file off the coffee table. He shoved it roughly into her hands. "He's changed you," he said bitterly.

"No. That's the one thing Alec has never done. I only wish I could say the same about you."

----*----

Max stormed into HQ and tossed the file on the table in front of Alec. "Whatever's in this file had better be worth it!" she fumed, her dark eyes flashing with anger.

Alec forced away the smile of relief that tugged at his lips at the sight of her. He felt like leaping onto the table and dancing a jig. If the ride home on her baby hadn't managed to calm Max down much, then Logan must have done something really stupid to piss her off. *I almost feel sorry for the guy. Well, actually, that's not true. I WOULD feel sorry for the guy if his idiocy wasn't self-imposed.* He reached for the file and toyed with the cover without opening it. He watched Max carefully.

"You knew he was gonna try some cheap ploy to get me back. So why'd you let me go?" Max looked at Alec, a baffled expression on her face. She didn't understand it. Considering how much animal DNA there was in their cocktails, she'd expected him to be more territorial.

Alec shrugged. "You are your own person, Max. I don't own you." But his eyes skidded away from hers as he said it.

Max felt her fury surge again, so thick it nearly choked her. How could Logan not know that simple truth when Alec already did, after only a year on the outside?

She seized the back of Alec's head in both her hands and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him roughly, her lips grinding against his with bruising intensity, seeking a distraction from her anger and confusion. She wanted Alec to claim her and drive away all thoughts of Logan. But Alec's lips remained deliberately soft and pliant under hers. He kissed her gently and brought one hand up to stroke her hair. Max felt her anger break like a wave against a rock. She softened her kiss and leaned into his touch. Alec's arms tightened around her, and his kiss hovered on the edge of becoming something more than just comfort.

Max reluctantly released Alec's lips and straightened with a sigh. They still had to deal with Witherspoon's mission. She smiled briefly in apology and then retreated to the other side of the desk, too nervous to sit. "You open it," she said, pointing to the file. "I can't."

Alec flipped open the file and quickly scanned the pages inside. Max anxiously paced the length of the table, her hands clenching and unclenching.

"Huh." Alec looked up at Max, his brow furrowed.

"What? What is it? What does it say?" Max stood poised on the balls of her feet, her body instinctively taking a defensive position.

"Our guy's an informant. He's trading information on back room deals in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The contact is FBI."

Max buried her face in her hand and moaned, then resumed pacing. She chewed on her bottom lip.

"Max," Alec said quietly, "if you don't stop pacing you're gonna wear out the floor. You gotta calm down."

"Calm down? Alec!," she exploded. "How can I possibly calm down? We're supposed to murder an innocent person in TWO DAYS!! What is there to be calm about?!" Max glared at Alec and then whirled around and continued to pace.

Alec moved around the desk and intercepted her path. Gently but firmly he grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're so wound up you're practically vibrating. Which means you're not thinking straight. It's gonna be ok."

"You don't know that." Her lower lip trembled slightly.

Alec caught and held her gaze. "Yes I do. Max, I know exactly what we're capable of. Ordinaries aren't that clever. They see what they want to see. Fooling Witherspoon won't be that hard."

Max let out her pent-up breath in a rush. "You have a plan."

Alec grinned. "Sorta. Don't worry, I got it under control. Trust me?"

Max took a deep breath and nodded.

Just then there was a knock on the office door. Luke opened it slightly and poked his head through the gap. "Uh, boss, you got a minute?" he asked tentatively, torn between the need to report and the desire not to interrupt.

Alec gestured for him to come in and close the door.

Luke nervously shifted his weight back and forth. He stared fixedly at his shoes and refused to look up at his CO. Even though Alec had ordered him not to interfere with Lydecker's night-time trawling through the database, he still felt as if he'd failed somehow. "Um, Deck's been at it again."

Max growled and leapt for the door. Alec snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him, her back pressed against his chest. "Temper, temper, Max."

Max twisted around in his grasp to look up at him, an indignant look on her face.

He shook his head with a smile. "Un un."

"Oh come on! You can't be serious. He deserves a beating for this."
"And he'll get one. Eventually. Just not tonight."

"But it's the perfect stress reliever," she wheedled. "I thought you wanted me to relax?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can come up with other ways," he teased, his eyes glinting.

Max threw up her hands in exasperation. "Why won't you let me hit him? Just tell me that."

"Cuz Deck still has a part to play. And he can't do that if he's in a coma in the ICU." Alec turned his attention to Luke. By the look on his face, the transhuman was as puzzled and exasperated as Max. "So what was our friendly neighbourhood spy after this time?"

Luke frowned. "It's weird. He bypassed tactics and weaponry and went straight to medical records. He was trying to access Max's file."

"MY file? What the hell for?" Max asked, puzzled.

"My guess is he wants to know what we know about your DNA," Alec replied thoughtfully.

"But what does it matter now? The cult's gone."

"Deck apparently thinks it does." Alec shrugged and then turned to Luke. "Pull her file. And change the passwords. All of them. He'll expect them to be in rotation anyway, so it won't cause any suspicion."

Luke grinned in relief. "Sure thing, boss." He retreated out of the office, glad to have a concrete task to do.

"I don't like this," Max grumbled.

"Don't worry about it. Deck's probably just mad that Sandeman kept him out of the loop."

Max snorted. "Yeah right. Deck's in a snit because he wasn't in on Dr. Jeckyl's master plan."

"We'll figure it out. Later. Right now we have an assassination to fake."

----