ARCHIVE: No
By Valjean
A Friend in Need
"Don't tell Max," Alec begged.
"But ... but you need help," Joshua implored, moving to Alec's side, reaching out although hesitating to actually touch him, probably for fear of making things worse.
"Shit," Alec cursed through clenched teeth as the seizure grabbed a bigger piece of his nervous system. Damn it, he'd come down here to talk to Joshua, not keel over in front of him. Clutching at the wooden table in Joshua's quarters as his knees gave way, he pulled a plate and cup with him to the floor, the sound of breaking glass making his friend cringe. "Sorry about the dishes," Alec managed as he tried to climb back to his feet. "I just need to--" And then he lost it, his head snapping back, his eyes rolling in his head, and the world simply going away.
*****
As he gradually regained consciousness Alec realized he felt wonderful, so warm and safe and loved. Snuggling down into the softness surrounding him, he murmured her name. Max.
"I didn't tell her," a voice said low in his ear. "You said not to tell her so I didn't."
Alec's eyes snapped open. The dogboy face inches from his own was creased with worry, the blue eyes fearful, and that breath ... His stomach lurched.
"Alec?" Joshua said. "Are you okay now?"
"Josh?" And then Alec realized his big friend was down on the floor with him, holding him, keeping him warm and still -- keeping him safe. "How long?" he rasped. "How long did I--"
"Half an hour," Joshua said. "I held you so you wouldn't get hurt. I didn't know what else to do. You said not to call Max."
"Half an hour," Alec repeated. "I've been worse." He looked up into Joshua's eyes. "You did good, Big Fella. I owe you for not callin' Max. But now I better--" Alec started to get up and immediately felt the trembling begin all over again.
"Crap," he said, his eyes filling with tears.
Joshua's arms tightened around him. "Don't try to move, Alec," he warned. "You need to rest, give the bitch seizure time to go away."
"But--"
"Don't worry," Joshua said firmly. "I've got you. You're safe. You'll be fine."
"Nice pep talk, Big Fella," Alec said weakly. He bit down on his lip, hard, fighting another spasm. "But I'm in trouble here."
"Alec," Joshua repeated firmly. "You'll be all right. You have to be."
"Tell that to the assholes who made me," Alec got out just as the seizure really took hold and robbed him of his consciousness again.
*****
When he opened his eyes for the second time Alec knew that this could be it -- that he might be dying. He felt so weak he found himself not truly caring, almost wishing he could just close his eyes once more and have it all be over -- no more worries, no more fear, most of all no more seizures. Yeah, a coma followed by the peaceful blackness of death didn't sound so bad right now.
"Get Max," he whispered to Joshua. "Get her now."
Joshua was still holding him in his arms, only they were on a bed now. His friend was shaking his shaggy head sadly. "Max isn't here," he said. "Max went with Logan to Wellington in a boat. I saw them leave. You said not to tell her so I didn't. I'm sorry, Alec."
Max is with Logan. How poetic. I'm dying and she's with Logan.
"I wanna see her one more time."
"I'm getting the doctor," Joshua declared, easing Alec's head onto a pillow and standing up.
Alec immediately missed the warmth of his big friend. "Don't go," he said, holding out a hand, all semblance of bravery in the face of death, all false bravado, vanishing. "Don't leave me alone, Josh."
"I'll be quick," Joshua promised as he backed away. "Just ... hold on, Alec. Just still be here when I get back."
The click of the barracks door closing was an oddly frightening, final sound. Alec knew he was truly alone now ... and truly dying.
*****
He stirred when he felt the prick of a needle on the skin of his arm. It was difficult to focus his eyes, but he recognized Dr. Makari's face looming above him. The man's lips twitched in a small smile, then he turned around and said to someone behind him, "He's back. We've got him back."
Alec wanted to ask what had happened, but he didn't have the strength to form words. Joshua dropped to his knees beside the bed and gently stroked sweaty strands of hair out of his eyes. "You're going to be all right now, Alec," he said firmly. He turned to Dr. Makari. "Isn't he?"
"Why do my ribs hurt?" Alec got out, wondering why there was so much pain when he breathed.
Joshua shot a look at the doctor who sighed. "When Joshua and I got here you were in a seizure loop. Nothing I gave you helped, not phenobarbitol, not even the powerful sedative Lydecker left with me." He glanced at the dogman again.
"What is it, Doc?" Alec asked, wishing he didn't have to talk because it made his head hurt so bad he felt like he was going to puke.
"Your heart stopped, son," Makari said gently.
Alec had never really liked the doctor that Lydecker had found for them, but he'd gone along with Max's wishes knowing she was right they needed the guy. However, right now, for the first time, he allowed himself to really sense the man's emotions, and what he felt surprised him. Makari truly cared about him ... and it had nothing to do with X5-494 being a guinea pig or part of Manticore's great misguided science project.
"Doctor used paddles," Joshua said, grinning. "Electricity."
Now Alec understood why he felt like he'd been kicked by a mule. Makari had started his heart again with a defibrillator. "What did you just give me?" he asked.
Makari looked away, and Alec's recently resuscitated heart turned over in his chest. "Doc?"
"It's an experimental compound I came up with based on that formula I couldn't get to work," he said, his eyes guilty. "It really wasn't ready to test, but if you have another seizure ..." He didn't need to finish.
"So?" Alec asked thickly. He sniffed and swallowed with difficulty."What's the catch?"
"I don't know what it will do to you, son," the doctor said softly. He reached down into his bag and brought out a plastic bottle of pills. "I do need you to take some tryptophan. If the compound works the way I hope it will, your body will be able to metabolize the supplement and convert it into serotonin again the way it used to."
"I thought you said that formula was a bust," Alec said as he dutifully accepted a glass of water from Joshua and swallowed a handful of the brown tablets.
"It was," Makari said. "But then I had an idea. I'd been trying to make the formula work based on human anatomy and body chemistry. I assumed that since you, Max, and most of the other X series have only a small amount of feline DNA the human portion of your genetics would be dominant. However, I began to wonder about the cat in you, whether that might not be the real genome area to target. So, I began experimenting with the compound on house cats. I've got over a dozen down at the lab in the hospital right now, all in varying stages of receiving the treatment I just started on you."
"Was it working?" Joshua asked, his blue eyes hopeful.
Makari shook his head. "I lost three test subjects the first week. They died from brain hemorrhages. I adjusted the formula and haven't had any more fatalities. However, the blood work isn't complete. I don't really know if their serotonin levels are increasing."
"Great," Alec said. "Just ... great."
"Hey," Makari said. "It's been fifteen minutes and you're not dead, or seizing either."
Joshua gave him a big hug, making Alec's ribs hurt all over again -- but he didn't complain. "You're gonna be fine, Medium Fella," he said. "Max will be back soon and you're gonna be fine. You have to be."
To be continued ...
Also, I'd like to encourage all M/A DARK ANGEL fans to read Max Collins' official prequel novel BEFORE THE DAWN. True, Alec isn't in the story (yet), but there's lots of canon background material in the book that would be pertinent to Alec later on. Plus, Mr. Collins says that Alec and Joshua will be "centerstage" in the DARK ANGEL sequel novel SKIN GAME coming out next February. -- author's note