New Life

by SixEcho

Alec finds a baby, and has NO clue what to do with her... He needs Max’s help! I'm reposting this entire thing because people keep e-mailing me about it.

New Life

Chapter 1: Arianna

Disclaimer: Dark Angel doesn't belong to me... sniff, sniff.

Summary: Alec finds a baby, and has NO clue what to do with her... He needs Max's help!

Spoilers/Timeframe: season 2

Rating: PG
*****

Alec woke up at 10am on a Sunday morning. He was dead tired from staying up most of the night at Crash, drinking and winning pool games. Slowly he rose out of bed, changed into his faded jeans and black t-shirt, and sat in his lounge to watch TV. Over the noisy cartoons, he heard a harsh knock at the door but chose to ignore it. If it was Max, she would have picked the lock...or kicked the door down if she was mad at him; if it wasn't her then it would probably be some annoying salesperson. Alec then heard a muffled thud, as someone put something down at the foot of his door.

"Ok, fine, I'll bite"

Alec got up and strolled to his door, opening it widely. A tiny box lay at his feet, stuffed with a faded pink blanket; so, he cautiously picked it up to peek inside. Alec almost dropped the box when he saw two big brown eyes looking up at him intently.

"No way! Not going to happen!" he yelled down the hallway. "Whose kid is this? Come back here right now! I'm no nanny!"

Alec looked around, but everything remained silent except for the delicate sigh of the baby he held in his arms.

"Okay, kid, don't panic. We'll find your mother, maybe she just forgot where she left you, or...or maybe there's a note!"

Alec brought the baby into his apartment, gently set her box down on the table and found a scrap of paper inside.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear Brain, I know we haven't talked in a long time but I need a favour. This is my daughter; Arianna and I love her more than anything else in the world, but I can't take care of her anymore. I have a malignant tumour, there's nothing the doctors can do. They said I only have a few more weeks. I sent Arianna to you because I knew you would look after her. Tell her that I love her very much. Thank you.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec stared at the note in disbelief. "Oh, crap." He returned his gaze to the baby, her life pretty much sucked right now, but she was so perfect, so innocent... No, stop it. Alec, you can't keep the baby. The woman thought she was giving it to Brain, a reliable genius. Not a irresponsible X5, he thought to himself.

Alec scrambled to find his cell phone; he needed Max's help now. He quickly dialled Logan's number. She'll undoubtedly be at his place, he thought irritably.

"Hello?"

"Logan, it's Alec, is Max around?"

"Sure, hold on," he answered, and handed the phone to Max.

"Alec? What's wrong? Is Joshua alright?"

"Joshua is fine, I'm the one in need of help...ME, Alec!"
"Oh, that's alright then, what's the matter?"

"Can you get over here, fast... oh, and could you stop off somewhere and get milk?"

"What's the matter? Are you having seizures?" Max asked anxiously.

"Look, I'm fine, nobody is in imminent danger of dying. Just please get over here quickly! I'll explain everything later."

"Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye."

For a second there it seemed to Alec that Max was genuinely concerned about him... "Nah, she'll always think of me as a major screw up."

Alec returned to Arianna, and gently lifted her into his arm. "Well looks like it's just you and me now, kid."

Arianna giggled and gazed at Alec.

Chapter 2: Clueless

*****

"Ok, kid, everything's going to be fine now, cause Max is coming over to see you! You're really going to like her, she's into all things cute and cuddly...actually she's not, but I'm sure she loves babies, who could not love a face like yours? Max will know what to do. I'll admit, sometimes she can be a real bi--...um...pain but she really cares about people...not me, but just people in general. Some more than others actually...like Logan. See, Max really likes Logan; why, you ask? I have no clue, but you'll probably meet him. Do me a favour, throw up on him for me, alright?"

Alec strolled around his apartment holding Arianna in his arms, stroking her dark hair. He had no idea what to do with a baby. Sure, he would like to have one when he's older...maybe married, but he was just a normal single guy, delivering packages for a living...who also happened to be a genetically engineered soldier.

For the second time that day Alec heard a knocking at his door. "Thank God, she's here! Let's go say hello to Max, Arianna." Alec opened the door and Max walked past him into the apartment, carrying a bottle of milk, not noticing the small bundle he carried in his hands.

"Well, I'm here, what's the crisis?" Max asked, then her eyes wandered down to the pink blanket Alec held. "What's that?" she asked curiously. Alec stepped forward and revealed the tiny baby. "Oh my God! Alec! How could you have been so irresponsible? Where's the mother, or did she just dump you with the baby? Of all the stupid things--"

"Clam down, Max!" Alec said, amused at her horror. "The baby isn't mine. Someone thought Brain was still living here, and left the baby on the doorstep. The mother was sick, so she can't take care of Arianna anymore..." Alec explained and showed her the note.

"Oh, sorry," Max said embarrassed. "Can I hold her?"

"Go ahead," Alec replied, carefully laying Arianna into Max's arms.

"She's so cute, Alec, gorgeous!"

"She looks a bit like you actually," Alec said, grinning. Max and Arianna looked priceless together.

"Her mother didn't leave a name...but maybe I could get Logan to dig something up."

"That's great, Logan: cyber-hero to the rescue!" Alec said mockingly.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Max asked, still staring at Arianna, transfixed on her big eyes. "Do you think she's a transgenic, Alec?"

Alec paused for a moment. The thought hadn't occurred to him. Could perfect Arianna be some sort of a Manticorian freak?

"Well, Brain did know the mother, I suppose it's possible," Alec said reluctantly.

"The only way to find out is by doing a DNA workup." Max replied.

"Ah, yet another job for cyber-hero!"

Max giggled. "Try be nice to Logan, please? Do it for me."

"I'd do anything for you, Max,"

There was an awkward silence then Arianna started crying.

"Oh no, I think she's hungry, go get her some milk," Max said, looking up at Alec.

"Me? I don't know about this stuff, Max," he stated helplessly.

Max was amused at how clueless he looked. Cool and confidant Alec reduced to a powerless, confused heap.

"It's easy, just start heating the milk over the stove," Max instructed, not wanting to put Arianna down for a second.

Alec did as he was told. "How do I know when it's hot enough?" Alec yelled from the kitchen.

"Use your own judgement, not too cold, not too hot," she stated; enjoying the expression Alec gave her.

"It's not like Renfro pulled me aside in the middle of field training and taught me how to heat baby milk, you know!" he yelled, frustrated.

Max sighed, then got up, fetched a baby bottle from Arianna's box, and went into the kitchen.

"Thank goodness the mother remembered this," Max said, handing the bright blue bottle to Alec. He poured the milk carefully into the bottle, then put it into Arianna's little hands.

"There you go! Come on, have a drink," he said.

Max looked at him, shocked. "Alec! She's a baby, you have to feed her." Max explained, then handed Arianna into Alec's hand and the bottle to his other.

"Well she has to learn how to feed herself sometime," he replied, hurt.

Max laughed. "Why don't we teach her that a little later? We need to go to the store and get some stuff for her!" she continued excitedly. "A new bottle, food, cot, clothes, shoes, toys, a stroller, a car seat, some blankets--"

"Maybe we should go rob a bank first...a big bank," Alec interrupted. He was enjoying the way Max was carrying on; she looked thrilled. He put Arianna down on the couch; she looked like she was about to fall asleep, then walked over to Max.

"Let's go, Alec, please? I can't wait!"

"Fine, you win...next stop the baby store," he answered, grinning at her.

They headed out the door, when Max turned back to Alec. "Haven't you forgotten something?" she asked, amused.

"Keys, money, you... Oh! Arianna! Come here, kid, I'm sorry, I'm not used to being a daddy and all..."

Chapter 3: Decisions, Decisions...

*****

"I found it! This is the one, Max, I can feel it. It's perfect!" Alec announced, holding up a tiny dress, with a delicate flower pattern against his chest.

"It's pink, Alec... I don't know, I think it looks better on you," Max said happily, holding the baby in her arms.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't want to steal the spotlight from Arianna," he replied grinning.

"Well, do we need anything else?" Max asked.

"Um... no, looks like we have everything," he replied checking the contents of the shopping cart. "Are you sure she doesn't need a tricycle?"

"Yes, Alec, if she's not a transgenic, she won't be learning how to ride a tricycle very quickly."

"If she is, we should we should buy her a Ninja 600! Anyway, where are we off to next?"

"Logan's place," Max answered, handing the money over to the lady at the cash register.

"Oh, right." Alec didn't have anything against the guy, but the whole righteous act was wearing thin. Then there was the fact that Logan was attracted to Max. but then again who could blame him?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec held Arianna, who lay sleeping in his arms while Max opened the door to Logan's apartment and stepped inside.

"Logan!" she hollered. A muffled thud came from the bedroom and Logan came out looking scruffy as usual, closely followed by Asha, looking just as dishevelled. Alec was visibly horrified and waited for Max's outburst.

"Hey guys," Max said, laughing, "sorry if we were interrupting anything, but do you think I could steal Logan away for a few minutes, Asha?"

"Sure, no problem, but give us a second, I was just leaving," she said, embarrassed. They went back inside the room to fix themselves up.

Max saw Alec's expression and went over to him. "It's fine, breathe! I knew they were together."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, concerned.

"Then you would have felt sorry for me...but it's not like that, I'm happy for them. Logan and I are too different, I need someone who understands me."

Logan reappeared and saw the baby. He frowned and turned to Alec. "So who's the mother?" he asked him.

"Why does everyone think that!?" Alec exclaimed

Max giggled and explained the situation to Logan. They then huddled around his computer, while Logan searched for hospital records.

"There were 7 people with tumours admitted to hospitals in Seattle. I'm looking for those who match the mother's criteria."

Alec sighed, walked over to the lounge and put Arianna on his lap. He turned her to face him and studied her elated expression, then whispered to her fondly.

"Listen here, kid, just so that you know, I'm not gonna ditch you, ok? I'll take care of you, I promise." He still couldn't believe how quickly he'd become attatched to this helpless bundle. "Even if you turn out to be a weird Manticore creation...or a normal little girl, I'll still luv ya."

"And so will I," Max said, smiling as stepped in front of Alec.

Alec was mortified that Max had heard his little heart-to-heart with the baby.

"Max! I, um...I was just,"

"I know just what you were doing, and I thought it was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen," she stated honestly and picked Arianna from Alec's lap.

Alec gave her a shy grin. "Logan have a lead?" he asked, following her back to the computer.

"Yes, I do," Logan confirmed, "A woman was admitted into Harbour Lights three weeks ago with a brain tumour, she was pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby girl on the 5th of May... The woman died this afternoon from a sudden haemorrhage. Her name was Carla Bernstein, but there's no other record of her existence anywhere. My guess is the name's a fake. There's nothing more I can tell you. Listen, I know a couple in Canada, who have been looking to adopt a baby. If you want I could--"

"No!" Max and Alec exclaimed together, Alec scowled at Logan. "Why do you always ship people off to Canada anyway? Someone's going to start complaining."

"I was just trying to help, I didn't realise you two wanted to keep her," Logan declared.

"We're sorry. Here, do you want to hold her?" Max asked as she put the baby into Logan's arms. Alec glowered at her, but she ignored him.

"I'm really not good with children... aww, isn't she adorable?" Logan said smiling.

Arianna took one look at Logan and let out a terrified scream, along with a fountain of tears. "What? I didn't... take her back, Max!" Logan cried. "Sh- -, I think she crapped on me! Get her off me! Max?! Stop Laughing!"

Alec swiftly scooped Arianna into his arms and whispered into her ear, "Thanks, that was even better than a throw up."

Max was still laughing but stopped when she saw Alec's distraught expression. "Alec? What's the matter? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Max?" Alec said hesitantly.

"What?!"

"We forgot to buy diapers..."

Chapter 4: Stay

*****

Alec and Max walked back into the apartment, weary and worn out. They had made a mad scramble back to the baby store, and bought the diapers just before closing time. Luckily, the store owner had given them a quick lesson on how to change diapers, while Alec intensely took down mental notes. She commented on what a beautiful daughter they had, but neither of them wanted to correct her. Back at his apartment, Alec searched through the bags filled with baby gear for Arianna's cot and some blankets.

"Why am I so tired? I've been on missions where I've had to sludge through a snowy blizzard for an entire night...but I've never felt this drained!" Alec declared.

"Probably because you didn't have to carry around a month old baby with you," Max offered, watching Alec as he unsuccessfully assembled the cot.

"There," Alec said triumphantly, "it's all fixed."

"Uh, Alec...I think the top part is supposed to be open and the bottom part closed so we can actually put the baby inside the cot," Max said, suppressing a giggle.

Alec was puzzled, he looked at the instructions again...then turned them the right side up. "Oh, I see," he said blushing.

Max thought that what Alec was doing was admirable; most guys would have just dumped Arianna at an orphanage and never given her second thought. Alec was different; she had never seen such a caring, selfless side of him before. She loved it.

Moments later Alec had the cot fixed and looked to Max for her approval. "It's great, Alec, she's going to love it."

Alec smiled proudly and put the baby inside, gently kissing her on her forehead. "Goodnight, Arianna."

As soon as he turned away, Arianna began her famous wail of hopeless and utter despair. "What's the matter? It's 8pm, bed time! You have to go to sleep now," Alec ordered.

Max walked over and picked Arianna up rocking her gently. "Look, It's not like I'm going to fall asleep, so I'll stay up with her tonight okay?"

"I can't ask you to do that, it won't be fair! Then you'll get to spend more time with her than me. You can have first shift, and I'll stay awake till you get tired then I'll take her, Ok?" he asked, lying down on his couch to get comfortable.

"That works for me too," Max agreed, fixing Arianna one last bottle of milk for the night. "We have to talk about what we're going to do with her tomorrow, though. I mean we can't take her with us on our rounds, and I really don't think Logan would be thrilled to babysit for us after what happened today." She giggled, remembering the look on Logan's face when Arianna burst into tears. "Maybe I could ask Asha...but I'd feel weird doing that. Did you date any baby-sitters? Then again, if you dated any, they probably want nothing to do with you now--" She paused, hearing Alec's deep breathing. "Alec?" Max walked over to the couch and found him fast asleep. "Well, looks like I'll be spending the night here after all Arianna." The baby giggled and sighed in contentment.

Max found Alec's cell phone in his jacket and called Original Cindy. She explained the day's events to her and then landed on the important question.

"So what am I going to do with her tomorrow? I can't call in sick again, I've already contracted all of the viruses known and unknown to mankind."

"Well why don't you just take the little Boo to the Jam Pony nursery?"

"What? Since when does Jam Pony have a nursery?"

"It's always had one! Lots of the employees are single moms, and despite popular belief, Normal does actually have a heart...or a cheap imitation of one. He got a professional baby sitter looking after them and everything, Monica, I think her name was."

"That's perfect! Thanks O.C., oh, and I'm going to have to spend the night at Alec's place, ok? He's fallen asleep on the couch, so I'm taking care of Arianna."

"That's always how it starts off, next thing you know he'll take off with a younger blonde, and you'll be left with 3 kids, a dog and mortgage payments."

Max laughed, O.C. could be hilarious sometimes, they talked a little longer then hung up. Arianna was fast asleep, and Max laid her carefully in her cot, putting the soft blanket over her.

Alec tossed and turned, then rolled off the couch, banging his head on the floor. He got up, swearing loudly.

"Shhh! Max hissed, "Arianna's asleep!"

"Oops, sorry," he said quietly. "What's the time?" he asked, joining Max by Ariann

a's cot. "11:30, she just fell asleep." Max and Alec stood in awe of the tiny infant sleeping so peacefully.

"We should take her to Dr. Shankar tomorrow, so she can get a check-up, but right now, I couldn't care less if she's a transgenic or not," Alec said.

"I know what you mean. it doesn't matter anymore. We should get some rest now though, I think I'll just have a quick cat nap."

"Good idea, come sit with me on the couch, it's surprisingly comfortable to nap on."

Moments later they were leaning up against each other, both fast asleep... Chapter 5: Mr Piggy

Max's eyes fluttered open. She stretched lazily, leaning into her pillow.then she realized it was actually someone's chest.

"Ahhh!" she shrieked, tumbling onto the floor.

"Not a very graceful landing, Max." Alec chuckled, when he awoke to Max's cry.

"Wow! I actually slept the whole night?" she asked, ignoring Alec's last comment. "I haven't slept like that in ages, I must have been so tired."

Alec got up, helping Max off the floor, then they hurried over to Arianna's cot. She lay dozing, totally oblivious to the earlier commotion.

"O.C. said we could take her to the daycare place at work. Apparently, the baby-sitter is really good and that way we could check up on her between runs," Max said.

"That's great! I'd forgotten that Normal had set that place up. I was worried I'd have to turn into a stay-at-home Dad."

Max giggled. "I'd pay to see that! Listen, we need to stop at my place before we go to work. That way I can get changed.and have a shower, oh, and then we could show O.C. how adorable Arianna is! So you go shower, and I'll get the baby ready."

"Yes, sir! You know, you're almost as bad as my last drill sergeant," Alec said, yawning, as he headed for the bathroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh my word! You're such a cute lil' Boo, aint ya?" O.C. said excitedly. Alec ginned proudly as O.C. cradled Arianna.

"You know she has this scream, which is amazingly in tune," Alec bragged. " I think she could be a great musician someday. Oh.but she also likes playing with her stuffed ball, so she might enjoy being a star athlete. Then of course there's her favourite toy, this pink little pig, so I wouldn't rule out the idea of a veterinarian," Alec rambled on eagerly.

O.C. looked at Alec incredulously. "Look at you! Alec: the proud Daddy, I never would have though it possible. This baby is going to do both you and Max some good."

Max strolled out of her room, "Ok, I'm ready. Let's blaze. "

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Max and Alec went into Jam Pony, walking past a group of smokers. "Do you really think this is a healthy environment for Arianna?" Alec said, frowning.

"I've worked here for years, and I still have all the parts of my body. Just relax! We'll check this daycare place out before we leave her there," Max said. She had never seen Alec this overprotective; it was so sweet!

Normal and Sketchy were having an intense argument over the front desk when Alec and Max came over.

"Look, the guy wasn't there! I left the package on his doorstep, I thought he'd find it eventually, then I'd go back later to get a signature."

"I don't pay you to think, moron! You get the signature BEFORE you give them the package.well!" he exclaimed, as he glanced at Max and Alec. "If it isn't Mr. and Miss I'm-too-good-for-this-job, if you late again I'm going to have to- aww! Is that a baby? What's her name? Can I hold her?" Normal's voice switched to a sugary tone.

Sketchy looked at Max, holding the baby and then at Alec standing protectively next to her. His mind steadily put the pieces together.

"Congratulations! I didn't know you guys had a baby! I didn't even know you two were going out! Alec, you dog! When's the weddi-"

"Ahhhh!" Alec yelled. "Look, she's not ours.somebody abandoned her, so now Max and I are keeping her, understand?" he explained, not so patiently.

"You two degenerates are looking after a child? What is this world coming to? I guess It's somewhat commendable though.anyway, leave her with Monica and you two get to work!" Normal barked.

"Fine, relax, we're going. By the way her name's Arianna," Max called out, as she and Alec stepped into the daycare room. The room, which was right next to the front office, was quite large and filled with colourful toys. Max and Alec saw other children playing and a few babies lying peacefully in their cradles. They interrogated Monica for a few minutes then decided that they liked her.

"Ok, I'm going to go now, or I'll never be able to leave Arianna alone. I'll see you later, Alec. We still have to go to the doc this afternoon, don't forget," Max reminded, handing the squirming baby to Monica.

"Sure thing, I'm just going to make sure she has everything she needs before I leave," Alec said as he dug around the baby bag for Arianna's toys. There was the stuffed ball, the teddy bear.but where was the pig? Max had forgotten to pack the pig! Alec started to panic, and went out the door, scanning the crowd for Max. He saw her on the other end of the room, talking to O.C.

"Max!" Alec hollered, "I can't find Mr. Piggy!" There was a pause, then he blushed deeply, as about 50 pairs of eyes turned onto him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Scene: The hospital. one of the worst places on earth.

Max kept pacing around the small waiting room, while Alec sat rigidly in a chair with the baby on his lap.

"I need to get a soda or something, I'm a nervous wreck! Do you want anything?" she asked Alec.

"No, I'm fine," he said, trying to act cool and calm, "Just.er, hurry back, because Arianna, might get a little freaked out all alone with me in this small.white, room.with doctors crawling around everywhere."

Max walked briskly to the vending machine. She wished the baby would be a normal kid.she didn't want Arianna to grow up with all the emotional baggage that she herself had to carry around and besides- Wham! Max was knocked onto the floor, she felt like she'd just walked into a brick wall.

"Oh my God, are you Ok? I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was- Max? Is that you?"

"R-Rafer?! What the hell are you doing here? Oh, right," she said pointing at him, "Paramedic.I forgot." Max got up and brushed herself off. "So this is how you pick girls up, run into them.one way or the other!" she laughed uneasily.

"Nah, just the pretty ones," Rafer replied grinning, "So are you making a delivery here?"

"Actually I was on my way to get a soda," Max said. Out of the thousands of people in Seattle, why did she have to collide into him? She hated talking to her post-heat victims; it was always so awkward.

"So, uh. What ever happened with you and that Logan guy," he asked, oblivious to her need to get away from him.

"Uh, we broke up a while ago," Max relied uncomfortably.

"Really?" Rafer said stepping closer to her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Well people," Dr Shankar said as she walked into the waiting room, "Looks like we got a healthy and happy baby here! Where's Max?"

"Went.soda," Alec stumbled over his words; he was ecstatic! "So she's not weird or anything?" he stated grinning from ear to ear.

"She's.special, Alec. Both her motor reflexes and brain activity were well above average, but her DNA seems 100% normal. Arianna will be able to grow up in a regular environment, and will probably excel in whatever she does. She's not going to feel different from the rest of the kids."

"Yes! I knew it!" Alec exclaimed. "Thank you so much, doc, I have to go find Max!"

Arianna giggled, sensing Alec's joy. Max was going to be thrilled. He jogged down the hallway, with his bouncing baby girl. "We have to tell her right away, Arianna, this instant" he said, turning the corner. "As soon as she stops talking to that guy, who has his hand on her shoulders."

Chapter 7: Fianceé

"Who's the homewrecker?" Alec asked Arianna miserably. He stood glaring at Rafer.

Max and Rafer hadn't seen Alec yet, and continued their conversation, just out of his earshot. "Why is Max still talking to him? I can't believe her, flirting with a guy in a public place. What is he wearing.is he a doctor? She's flirting with the enemy! She's laughing.she thinks he's funny, you know she thinks I'm funny too. Then again, I'm not a doctor, doctors are probably funnier. Why is he standing so close to her. why do I care so much?"

Alec inched forward undecidedly. It wasn't like he and Max were married! He couldn't expect her to put her social life on hold, because of him.again. Max still blamed him for the whole virus thing, if he screwed up her love life again she'd kick his- Was the guy short-sighted? Why did he have to stand so close??

"Ok, no. Max can't fall for that loser, I have to stop her, I need a plan. Think! I'm a single guy, he's a single guy. What turns a single guy off? Wait, I have an idea. Max doesn't want that guy, anyway." Alec said determinedly, "Besides, I'm cuter!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Max backed away slowly. Rafer was nice and everything.but he definitely wasn't what she was looking for. She had to think of a way to get rid of him for good.

"So anyway, how about you and me hook up at Crash tonight? I haven't been there in ages, being a doctor and all. I get called away all the time. You wouldn't believe how many-"

"Max!" Alec said stepping between her and Rafer. "I think the baby wants you, she kept crying and I just knew she wanted to see you." Alec turned around to Rafer, " Hi, I don't believe we've met," Alec said shaking Rafer's hand, and hanging his other arm around Max's shoulders.

"Hey. I'm, er. Rafer. Who are you?" he asked perplexed.

"This is Alec, my fiancée. It's not official yet but." Max explained. Alec was totally going to rip her off after this, but at least this way she'd never have to worry about Rafer again.

"Oh! I didn't. you have a baby! Ok, well.I have to go do a few more rounds, so I'll see you later, bye!" Rafer said, inching away from Alec's glare.

"Fiancée? Hmmm." Alec teased. Max didn't like the guy after all. Yeah!

"Give me a break! I had to get rid of Rafer somehow. Have the results come yet?"

"Well, if you were with me instead of talking to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Pathetic, then you'd know. What kind of a name is 'Rafer' anyway? I'm not sure if you really want the results."

Max tenderly took Arianna from Alec then delivered a solid blow to his abdomen.

"I may be in touch with my motherly side right now, but I can still-"

"She's a normal kid, Max," Alec said, smiling through his pain. "She's a happy, beautiful, and talented baby girl."

Max shrieked in delight and hugged Alec tightly, almost crushing Arianna in the process.

"Watch the baby. Ow, and my new bruise" Alec said, laughing.

Logan sat alone at Crash, waiting for Asha. He thought about Arianna; how would Max and Alec raise a baby all by themselves? She would have to go to school, then there were the teenage years. Just then a familiar guy sat down next to him. It was Rafer.

"Hey! I seem to be running into Max's guys today." Rafer said, ordering a drink. "So I guess Max ditched you too, huh? Who is that prettyboy she's with anyway? And the baby! That was a shocker."

"What? Oh, you mean Alec?"

"What kind of a name is that anyway? Alec. I guess the best man won. or at least the one with the best hair."

Logan nearly choked on his drink. "What do you mean, he won?"

"Didn't you know? Max and Alec are getting married."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Please, Max? Just for a little while? I can't manage without you.the spare room is totally empty, I never use it! Arianna needs both of us." Alec pleaded. They were both at his apartment sitting on the couch with Arianna between them.

"Fine!" Max gave in, "But I want the shower first in the mornings, and we take turns having Arianna in our rooms. oh, you can't eat any of my food, and NO girls over at the apartment," Max negotiated. There was no other way out. Both of them loved Arianna so much, and neither could bear to part with her.

"Deal!"

Just then Alec's cell rang.

"Hello?"

"Alec, It's Logan. This connection is really bad.barely hear you. Give to Max.

"It's Logan," Alec said tossing the phone to Max, "I can't hear what he's saying though, it's all crackly."

"Logan? What's wrong?" Max asked, concerned. Alec rolled his eyes and played with the baby and Mr. Piggy.

"Max.I'm.so happy for.and Alec. Wedding.to tell.Asha, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Logan? I don't understand what you're saying." The line went dead.

"Something's wrong with your cell phone, Alec."

"Don't insult my cell phone and I won't insult your Ninja. What did he want?"

"I'm not sure. He said something about him, Asha and a wedding.I think he just invited us to his and Asha's wedding!" Max exclaimed excitedly.

Chapter 8: I knew I Loved You

"I didn't know you owned so much stuff! Do you wanna give me a hand?" Alec hauled in one of Max's boxes into his apartment.

"What? And put the baby down? What's the use of living with another X5 if you can't get him to do a little muscle work now and then?" Max replied. "Besides, you wanted me to move in with you."

"Yep, it's every girl's dream... OW!" he exclaimed when Max threw a stuffed teddy at him. "Hey! That could have critically injured me!"

"We're going to have to work on your colossal ego, Alec," she said smiling. "Just two more boxes then we have to head back to Jam Pony. Lunch hour is almost up. Keep hauling!!"

"You're loving this, aren't you?" Alec said grinning.

"You know I am." Alec got the last box and collapsed onto the couch next to Max. Arianna watched the lady on TV intently.

"You're filling her mind with useless television garbage!" Alec exclaimed.

"It's a kiddies show, it's supposed to be educational." Max retorted, then turned her attention back to the TV.

"Hi kids!" the lady on TV exclaimed. "Today we are going to talk about the two most important people in your life. that's right! Mommy and Daddy! Everyone needs a Mommy and a Daddy. You know they love you, and they also love each other very much. That's what's so special about your family. There's so much love! Did you know that your Mommy and Daddy fell in love and got married? They loved each other so much.Let's sing the love son-"

Max quickly turned off the TV. "Er. we should get back to work now," she said uncomfortably.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I know!" Logan said over the phone. "I didn't believe it either when I first heard. I didn't know they were so close."

"Wow! Max and Alec. married? That little baby really brought them closer. We should send them a gift or something!" Asha said excitedly.

"I know just the thing."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec and Max hurried back to Jam Pony with Arianna. Alec kept wondering about what the lady on TV had said.would Arianna grow up miserable if she didn't have both parents with the official title of: Mother and Father. He and Max had been growing closer. he could feel it. She looked at him differently, like he was special. She didn't think he was a genetically engineered loser anymore, and she didn't blame him all the--"

"It was Alec's fault," Max said, innocently. Normal was giving her the you're-always-late look.

"I don't want to hear your feeble attempt at excuses! Just get your bike and deliver this," he said, throwing her a package over to Max.

Just then five men in dark suits entered Jam Pony and looked around. Everyone turned to stare at them.

Alec's heart raced with fear. They were White's men! He had to get Max and Arianna out of there. If he took out the two in front, then turned before the others drew their guns, maybe he could-

"That's them," the man in front said, looking directly at Max and Alec. Suddenly the man reached into his jacket and pulled out. a rose? The group huddled together and started crooning out a pre-pulse hit.

"Maybe it's intuition

But some things you just don't question

Like in your eyes

I see my future in an instant

And there it goes

I think I've found my best friend

I know that it might sound more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

A thousand angels dance around you

I am complete now that I've found you

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life."

The song ended and the man walked over to Max and Alec and handed them each a rose. They were stunned. The man continued with the message.

"Asha and, er..." he looked down at a piece of paper, "Logan, want to tell you how thrilled they are that your getting married. They think your perfect for each other and are going to be the greatest parents and- Hey? Are you guys listening?" Chapter 9: Here to stay

"What the hell were you thinking!" Max screeched into the pay phone. It was an hour after her shift had ended and Alec had gone home with Arianna.

"I-I'm sorry, Max. I thought you. Rafer said-"

"Rafer? You got information about my personal life from Rafer?!"

"I'm really sorry, Max! So. uh, what did Alec do?" Logan couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Oh, what every attractive, single guy who has just had the concept of marriage thrust into his face would do. he threw his arms around me. kissed me passionately and told me that he was mine forever."

"Oh, Max! That's great! I'm so ha-"

"I was being sarcastic, dumbass!" Max yelled furiously.

"Oh. so you aren't getting married?" Logan said confused.

"Ugh! I have to go now, bye!" Max hung up the phone. She would never understand Logan. she never had. He was so different, not like Alec; she could read Alec like an open book. When he had heard the message from Logan and Asha he had freaked. All colour drained from his face and he looked horrified. Who could blame him? One day he's as free as a bird, the next he's got a baby to look after AND has the idea of marriage rubbed in his face.

"Alec just couldn't handle it" Max thought out loud, "He hates me!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

"She hates me," Alec stated.

He was changing Arianna's diapers, but even through the smell, he couldn't stop thinking about that afternoon. Max had been devastated; she looked like she was about to cry! Was the thought of marrying him so dreadful? Probably. He was a genetically engineered delivery boy. not a cyber-hero, or a doctor with a weird name. Alec's was hurt.

"I care about Max so much, Arianna. Maybe that's the problem! I scared her off. I see it now!" he concluded. "A beautiful, talented girl enjoying her life gets dumped with the huge responsibility of taking care of a baby by the guy who annoys the he- . heck outta her. Then the idea of marriage comes along. it was too much for her to handle," Alec said, then laid Arianna the cot that was in his bedroom. she was fast asleep.

Just then the front door cracked open and Max walked inside. She looked around and stepped into Alec's room.

"Alec? Are you here?" Max asked quietly, he was definitely going to kick her out.

"Yeah, Max," Alec replied, In a few seconds she'd leave him. for good.

They both stood in silence. Suddenly Arianna burst into tears. They both rushed to her side.

"Quick!" Max cried. "Find the pig!"

Alec sped around the apartment, searching for the stuffed toy; eventually he found it beneath the couch.

"I have it!" he proclaimed and put the pig into the baby's arms. Arianna soon quietened down again.

"Max? Don't leave me. please? I don't know what me and Arianna would do without--"

"You want me to stay? I thought you'd want me to leave after what happened there this afternoon. Rafer told Logan-"

"Ah-my two favourite people. I think I can figure out the rest of the story. "Alec grinned. Max wasn't going anywhere! "I'd never want you to leave Max, I really do care about you. lots." He lay down on his bed, embarrassed. This was it, she'd tell him that they weren't right for each other, or that she still had feelings for-

"I care about you too, Alec. I just want to take things slow," Max said smiling, moving closer to him. He pulled her down next to him.

"I can live with slow," he agreed, pulling her into a bear-hug. "Stay with me for a little while?" he asked. Max curled up next to him.

"Max?" Alec whispered into her ear.

"Yes, Alec?" Max said breathlessly, she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Your feet are cold."

Chapter 10: Innocent

"No, definitely the blue one; the pink one is so. feminine." Max yelled, pacing around the apartment nervously. Today they were going to get Arianna christened, unfortunately they were having a few problems.

"Look. the pink one goes better with her skin tone! She looks adorable in it. She's wearing the pink one, and that's final!" Alec argued, as he put on his brand new tux. He really hoped Max wouldn't start laughing, he looked so. Logan-y.

"Fine," Max agreed. "What about the flowers? Did you get the flowers?"

"I got them! White roses, you told me about five hundred times ! You're not supposed to be involved in this remember? I get to plan the christening, and you get to do her wedding. then you can have ALL the white roses you want, ok? I still can't believe you invited Normal," Alec grumbled, looking into his mirror.

"I was trying to be nice for a change! How was I supposed to know he'd accept? You gave out the invitations, right?"

"Will you calm down? I took care of everything. don't you trust me?" he called out.

"I'm sorry, I just want everything to be per-" she paused as she saw Alec coming out of his room, "--fect."

"Well? What do you think?" Alec asked cautiously.

"Wow! Uh. you look great. it's amazing what a tux can do for a guy," she said embarrassed. Alec was probably the only guy in the world that could make a tux look that good. "So everything at the church is arranged?"

"Yeah, I talked to the Father yesterday to work out the details."

"Details?" Max asked warily.

"Just go get changed!" Alec ordered. He was stressed enough without having to worry about Max too. Today his baby would be christened: Arianna Alex. Her last name was pretty much a dead centre combination of his and Max's names. it worked well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

O.C. sat down in one of the pews among the other guests.

"So where's the happy couple and their bouncin' baby girl?" she asked.

"They're late. as usual," Normal stated from the row behind her.

"I'm sure they'll be here any moment right, Logan?" Asha said.

"Well, with Alec you can never tell!" he replied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm telling you, it's on skew!"

"It's fine, Max. the world won't end if my stupid bow-tie is on skew!"

They stood outside the church while Max tried frantically to adjust Alec's bow-tie. He held Arianna who kept squirming. Max was losing it. Alec gently took hold of her hand and looked directly into her eyes.

"Everything is going to go exactly the way you want it." He said comfortingly. "I'm going to make sure of that."

"Thanks, Alec," Max said quietly. He leaned slowly towards her.

"Save that stuff for later, guys." O.C. said as she opened the church door, "We've all been waiting for you three to make an appearance, hurry up!"

Max and Alec pulled apart hastily and entered into the church. It was beautifully decorated with white. lilies?

"Uh. oops!" Alec said guiltily. "Roses. lilies. they're all gorgeous creations, just like you!" he told Max.

"Nice save, "she laughed, "I love the lilies!"

Just then the Father walked up to the pulpit.

"So where's the couple who brings this chi-" he tuned to Alec and his expression grew into a look of dread.

"Father Destry." Max stated, as painful memories came flooding back to her. Alec noticed the tension in the air.

"What's wrong?"

Note Ok, some people seem to be a little confused about who Father Destry is. I'm sorry! My fault, I should have explained it better: You remember in Pollo Loco, there was that priest that Ben tried to kill? That's Father Destry.

Chapter 11: My Own Worst Enemy

Max rushed after Father Destry, she couldn't believe it was him! How would she explain herself out of this one? The Father ran into his office, and hastily searched for something in his drawers.

"Father?" Max said, as she slowly walked into the room. "I know this must seem strange, but there's a totally good explan-"

"Take one more step, and I'll shoot!" he exclaimed, holding up the weapon to Max's head.

"Just relax, ok? Remember me? I was the one that saved you from Ben. Your in no danger, I promise. Just put the that down so we can talk... I know your not going to kill me."

"I still don't trust you," Father Destry said calming down a bit and lowered his aim, "but your right, I could never shoot anyone."

"Yeah, there's that. and the fact that your threatening me with a stapler." Max said.

Father Destry looked confused for a second, the swiftly picked up his actual gun this time. "Not anymore! Now sit down and tell me exactly what that murder is doing in my church!"

"Me and my big mouth."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What on earth is taking Max and Father Destry so long?" Alec said irritated. "And why did the Father looked so freaked when he saw me?"

"Maybe Destry thought the baby's father would be a little more. mature" Logan offered.

"I'd punch you in the gut right now, but I don't want to set a bad example for Arianna. and I don't want to wrinkle my suit." Alec warned.

"Will you two shut-up?" O.C. asked. "Men! Why do women bother?" She said, taking Arianna from Alec.

"Maybe you should go find Max."

"Good idea. I'd be in better company," Alec said, glaring at Logan.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Then when Ben died in a car accident, his twin brother, Alec came back from Canada. Alec wasn't even in the country when the murders happened. It was all Ben." Max explained. altering truth.

"Oh dear. I am so sorry. That must have been terribly traumatic for Alec."

"You have no idea."

"I just got so scared when I saw him, all those terrible memories. he looks exactly like him!"

"That tends to happen with twins." Max replied.

"I can't believe I pulled out this stupid gun! I got it the day after you saved me. after I moved to a new church. I don't even know how to work it!" He said, lifting it up to inspect it.

"I hate guns myself. too messy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec walked down to the other end of the church, looking through doors now and then. Where was Max? He rounded the corner and peered through the window of an office. There she was, talking to Father Destry. who was pointing a gun at her!

"So, do mind not mentioning the whole twin/murder thing to any of our guests?" Max asked.

"No problem, I feel a whole lot safer now." The Father replied, relieved. "I think God let out paths cross again so I could finally resolve my hatred against Ben. I'd really like to meet Ale-"

"Get down Max!" Alec yelled bursting through the door. He shoved Max behind him and lunged towards Father Destry. A single shot rang out, and Alec went down hard. He lay motionless.

Chapter 12: Battle Scars

"Alec!" Max screamed as she knelt down beside him, taking off his jacket so she could look at the wound on his side.

"I-I'm so sorry! I thought it was. It was an accident, it just went off!" Father Destry said hysterically, "I'll call the doctor!"

"No! Just. see if you can find bandages or something to stop the bleeding." Max said shakily.

The Father left hastily. Max gently touched Alec's face. If she lost him, she didn't know what she'd do. Max ripped a hole in Alec's shirt which was already covered in blood. She hadn't realised how much she loved him till that moment.

"Alec? Can you hear me? Are you alright? Please don't leave me. Alec?" Max gently removed the pieces of his stained shirt, while supporting his head in her other hand. There seemed to be less blood, there might be a clot. Hesitantly, she examined his side where the bullet had.. grazed? Turning around she saw the bullet logged securely in the door frame. Alec's eyes fluttered open and he looked at her.

"Don't worry, Max. I'll never leave you." He said sincerely. Max promptly dropped his head on the floor with a thud.

"Ow!" Alec exclaimed.

"You idiot! I almost died with worry! That is such a pathetic excuse for a bullet wound!"

"I'm sorry, I'll try harder to get shot next time. I think I got knocked out when I fell and banged my head against the floor, thanks to you that happened twice! Where's the Father? Why was he trying to shoot you!" Alec looked around the room hastily. Max explained the whole story to him. eventually it sunk in.

"Your alive!" Father Destry said relieved when he walked back in, carrying a first aid kit. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were- well Max probably told you, right?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. I kinda feel like an idiot riding in on my white horse to save Max from a priest with a gun. How about we get this Christening done!"

"Give me two seconds to put this on you, then we can put your jacket on top and nobody will know the difference, except for that very tiny hole." Max grabbed the bandages, and carefully wrapped them around the small gash. "I can't believe you went down after one bullet graze," she said teasing.

"Yeah, well not all of us can't survive a bullet through the chest."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So who brings this child to the Lord?" Father Destry said, holding Arianna in his arms. Max and Alec watched proudly, they were so happ- OC nuged them in the back.

"We do!" Max and Alec said together.

"We come here today to celebrate the joy of Arianna Alexis's birth. This welcome ceremony for Arianna is a time to mark that sense of responsibility and awe to remind Max and Alec how much of their lives must now be devoted to caring for Arianna,

to guide her and nurture her. Max and Alec, let us name your child. Together with me

place a hand on the child and say:

We name you:

Arianna Alex

We promise our love, unconditionally

and our do our best to be good parents"

Max and Alec nervously said the remainder of their vows and the ceremony ended.

"Wow!" Max said as they walked out of the church, waving goodbye to everyone, "That was great, it was just as beautiful as a wedding." She sniffled a bit, hoping Alec wouldn't notice.

"It was. You did great, Arianna," Alec said holding her up close to his face. "I'm sorry I almost ruined it for you with my whole psycho twin problem" he said guiltily.

"That wasn't your fault! Almost getting killed was your fault though. If you ever do anything that stupid again, I'll. I'll fence your cell phone!"

"Woah there, are those fighting words? In front of the baby?"

"Just don't die, ok? Ever?" Max said softly. Alec put his hand to the side of her face.

"Your stuck with me." He leaned closer and kissed her swiftly on the lips. "So why don't we go home and watch The Little Mermaid?"

Chapter 13: A Dog's Life

Alec clutched his steering wheel, glancing ahead at traffic. Max sat beside him, and Arianna was in the baby car seat. Alec smiled a little to himself, he had kissed her. He. Alec. had kissed Max. So maybe Max didn't think it wasn't a earth-shattering fireworks kind of kiss, but he knew he'd never forget it. She had just been standing there in front of him, and it came so naturally, it was just the right thing to do at the time! It finally dawned on him. he was falling for Max. But why would she ever want him? She'd never thought of him in that way. had she?

"So how is your arm? Do you want me to drive?" Max asked Alec nervously. He had kissed her. It was totally unexpected, and it was over before she knew what had happened. totally a fireworks experience. But was it a friendly kiss? Like a hug, except with lips? Or maybe he was aiming for her cheek and he missed.

"My arm's fine, it's stinging a bit, but I think I can make it home without passing out." He looked at her and smiled. He could do this. Max was just a girl, and he was just a guy, it was logical! What would he usually do around a girl he was interested in? Well, he'd start of smiling. raise an eyebrow suggestively and maybe even wink a few times... all about eye contact. It was corny, but he had perfected this method and it had always worked. except for Asha, but Asha was weird. Alec signalled, pulled into his street and parked the car. Max was just a girl, he didn't need to be nervous. Alec turned to Max, hanging one hand over the wheel and the other behind Max's seat. and proceeded to work his magic..

"Alec.?"

"Yes, Max?" Oh yeah, it was working!

"Do you have some thing in your eye?"

Alec sighed. Max wasn't just a girl. maybe he needed a new plan. "I'm fine! Let's go in, I promised Arianna we'd watch The Little Mermaid."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec followed Max up the stairs, carrying the baby. Something in his eye? Ugh! He came to their door and noticed that it was open. someone had broken the lock, they heard footsteps inside... Had White found out where he lived? Alec felt a deep fear in the pit of his stomach. he had to get Max and Arianna out of there. Alec quickly handed the baby to Max, "Take her and go back to the car, now!" he ordered.

"Nice try," Max gave the baby back to Alec, walked to the door and kicked it open "Who, the hell do you think you- Joshua? Joshua!" Max cried, Joshua grinned and put down the paper bag that he carried with him.

"You gave us a scare there buddy," Alec said relieved.

"Sorry about the door, couldn't get in." Joshua replied.

"That's ok, Max finished the job off for you," Alec said grinning. He and Max hadn't seen Joshua for a while, ever since Annie had died Joshua had kept to himself.

"I came to visit you, but Cindy said you were with Alec." Joshua said, then he turned to Alec, noticing a baby he carried. "So, Max and Alec. getting busy? That's a better plan." He grinned.

Max turned red. "We just found her Joshua. now Alec and I are taking care of her. That's the story."

"So your looking after a baby. together?" he asked Alec.

"Yes. Well we're not together, but we're taking care of Arianna, both of us, together. It's complicated." Alec explained. He didn't know what to say and definitely didn't want to imply something that would make Max uncomfortable. Alec sat on the couch and put Arianna down next to him." So why don't you come watch a movie with us, big fella?" he said, quickly changing the subject. "It's the one about the girl with a tail who talks to fish and she-"

"No tv, tv only brings bad news." Joshua said firmly. He picked up his paper bag and looked inside.

"I know what to do." He reached inside and took out a small book. "I found these in Terminal City. you can still read them, they're still good." Joshua stated as he gave the book to the baby. "Read, tiny fella." He ordered.

"Er. She's a little young to read Joshua," Max said, picking up the book, "Hmm, Lady and the Tramp. that's a kids book I think. We'll save it for when she's older, ok?"

"Wait!" Alec exclaimed. "I have a brilliant idea! Arianna is too young to read, right? But I'm pretty sure she understands a lot, and listening to our voices is good for her so. Why don't we read to book *to* her!" he said excitedly. Alec seizeed the book from Max and opened it to the first page.

"Hey! Why do you get to read first?" Max complained.

"It was my idea!" Alec argued. "Ok, here goes: Lady and the Tramp. are you sure this is a kids book? The title doesn't sound like it." he asked sceptically.

"It's about dogs." Max sighed.

"Oh, that's fine then," Alec said. He, Max and Joshua were packed together with the baby on the couch as they heard the story.

Max listened to Alec's serious tone as he talked about how the two dogs fell in love. she'd never noticed it before, but Arianna had brought out a sweeter, gentler side of him. He was finally getting rid of the I-don't- care attitude. She heard him say the final words of the story and close the book. Alec was going to be such a good role model for Arianna, he was so smart and sensible-

"Hey Max? Why don't we get a dog?"

Chapter 14: Ames

"This is such a bad idea!" Max said as she walked past an enclosure filled with dogs, yapping at her, why did she give in? Alec had wanted one so badly, and he said it would make an excellent friend for the baby. and he'd looked at her with those earnest eyes, pleading . how could she refuse?

"It must be your feline DNA because these pups don't seem to like you." Alec said grinning at Max. He sat on the grass, throwing a tennis ball for a tiny mongrel. Arianna sat up by herself and stoked the nose of a larger grey puppy.

Max sighed, "I hope you realise that a dog needs a lot attention and love. You have to take it for walks everyday, feed it bathe it. and if it craps on the carpet *your* cleaning it up." She would pay to see that!

"I think she likes that one best," Alec said, looking over at Arianna who was laughing happily. He picked up the grey puppy and looked it in the eye. "Yep, this is the one. I can tell, he's tough, healthy, and-"

"And he just pissed on you." Max stated.

"Ugh!" Alec cried holding the pup away from him. "Bad dog!" Alec scolded, causing Arianna to cry, and Max went to pick her up.

"Apologise to the dog, Alec!" she hissed.

"I'm sorry! Good boy," he said stroking it's coat. "See Arianna? I like him, he's a good dog." Alec mumbled. The baby stopped crying and looked at Alec and the puppy, smiling. "Dooo," she gurgled. Max and Alec stood speechless.

"D-Did the baby just try to say something?" Max asked as she sat on the grass and seated the baby down in front her. Alec dropped the pup and rushed over to them.

"That's it girl! Say Da-da. come on, Da-da." He said excitedly.

Max turned the baby to her, "Don't listen to him, say Ma-ma, can you do that? Ma-ma!"

Arianna looked at both of them and her brow furrowed in concentration, "Dog- gie." She stated.

"Woohoo!" Max cried as she threw her arms around Alec, "Did you hear that?! She said doggie!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec sighed. Max and Arianna. the two most important women in his life right now. Who would have thought? A baby and. Max. He remembered how she'd hugged him, almost cracking his ribs because she had been so thrilled. The puppy sat by his feet chewing on his shoe. He wondered what Arianna's next word would be. and if he'd get another hug for it.

Max fed the baby a bottle of milk, she was growing up so fast. soon she'd be running around, playing with. "Hey, Alec? What are we going to name the dog?" she asked.

"Er. I don't know. how about we name it Logan?"

"Very funny," Max said, "Seriously, you have to come up with a name. We can't keep calling him 'dog'"

"Well." Alec continued thinking, "I know! We can call him Ames, it's perfect!"

Max laughed, "That's such a good idea! We can be like: 'get off the couch Ames!', and 'don't poop on the floor Ames!'"

"Good, It's settled then, come sit here, Ames," Alec said picking the puppy up and putting it on his lap. Ames jumped onto Alec and licked his face.

"I hope he doesn't get too big. The place isn't large enough," Max said looking around.

"Don't worry the guy at the animal shelter said that his breed doesn't get very big, and they're as gentle as kittens ."

"Really? That's great. so what breed is he?"

"Uh. some thing with an 'R' . Rottwer? Rottiler?"

"Rottwieller?"

Chapter 15: Little Monsters

Arianna crawled around the apartment determinedly, stopping now and then to investigate some curiosity. Ames followed close beside her, making sure she didn't get into any trouble. Arianna came across a purple ball and carefully inspected it, she then threw it towards Alec's feet. Ames lunged for the ball, almost knocking Alec over.

"Ames! Watch it!" Alec yelled. He liked the dog, but the thing didn't know it's own strength. Ames turned his back on Alec and ran back to Arianna, placing the ball gently in her hands. The baby giggled in delight.

"Wow, kid. I think you just taught Ames how to play catch!" Alec picked up another ball and waved it in the air to get the dog's attention, "Here boy, nice yummy ball. go fetch!" Alec said hurling it across the room. where it knocked Max's coffee mug off the table. Ames made no attempt to retrieve the ball and ignored the crash of the coffee mug.

"What happened! Is the baby alright?" Max said worried, as she cracked the bathroom door open.

"Er. the *baby* is fine. but, uh, Ames knocked over your coffee mug!" he said, pointing at the dog and avoiding eye contact.

"Alec." Max said frowning.

"Ok, Fine! It was me! I'm the evil mug-breaker." he said dramatically. "I was trying to teach the mutt how to play catch."

Max laughed, "Shame on you blaming the innocent puppy! If there aren't any more catastrophes, I'd like to get back to my shower."

"I'd hardly call that thing a puppy"

"Look, why don't we go down to the park after lunch? Then you can play catch till your heart's content."

"Great idea! Let's go now! We'll grab lunch later." Alec said excitedly, looking for the dog's lead and putting Arianna in the stroller.

Arianna caught Alec's excitement, "Paa.ppaaark" she mumbled.

"See? The baby wants to go too!" Alec said. He got out a notebook and scrawled the word 'park' on his list. "Ok, so now she can say: Doggie, Ames, Dada, Mama. and Park! This kid is so smart," he said ruffling the baby's dark hair.

"Well. since Arianna learned a new word just for this occasion, I guess we could leave now. just give me second, I'm underdressed for the event."

"Oh, I don't mind," Alec said grinning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Max pushed the baby stroller down the lane through the park while Ames hurried along, dragging Alec who barely held onto the lead. "Well. I think we should let Ames have a nice run now," he said removing the lead. That dog was stronger than some of the transgenics he knew. Alec took the ball out of his pocket and threw it for Ames. The ball flew through the air, bounced off a lamp post and just missed Max's head.

"Alec!" She snapped, " You think Manticore would have taught you better aim!"

"Sorry, but the guard dogs didn't like playing catch with me. they weren't very friendly either."

Alec found a nice grassy spot in the park and let Arianna explore, keeping a close eye on her. Max found a shady spot behind a tree, "Hey Alec? Come over here, the sun's really hot."

"Some of us don't have natural tans Max, we have to work hard for them." Alec said, relaxing against another tree as he watched Arianna play with a blade of grass. It was getting pretty hot. "Hey Max? I'm gonna see if I can score us some ice-cream, ok? I'm taking the little monster with me, we need time to bond." Alec said, putting the lead back onto Ames.

"Get me mint please!" Max called, without turning around, "I'll take care of the other little monster." She heard Ames barking happily, and leaned back closing her eyes. Alec didn't need to bond anymore with Arianna, he already had the perfect relationship with her. they both did.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec strolled back to Max with three ice-cream cones that were melting fast.

"Sorry, but your mint kept dripping so I had to take a bite outta it," Alec said, handing it to Max.

"Yeah right," Max laughed, "You just wanted the best of both worlds! You owe me a bite of your chocolate now." she continued, smiling. "So where's your little monster?" Max asked looking around.

Alec pointed to Ames who was sniffing around.

"No." Max said, "That was my little monster. where's Arianna?" She said, getting worried.

Alec looked at her with wide eyes. "I took Ames with me! I left Arianna here, with you!"

"I thought you took Arianna with you!" Max said in a shaking voice. She got up and looked around frantically. She couldn't see the baby. "Alec!? Do something! Where is she?!"

"D-Don't panic. I'll find her," Alec said with more fear than confidence. He dropped onto his hands and knees and concentrated, "Think like a baby. think like a baby."

Chapter 16: Runaway

Alec crawled around on the grass, bellowing Arianna's name, this wasn't working. It was all his fault, he shouldn't have just left the baby like that, what if something happened to her? He didn't know what he'd do without-

"I'm so sorry Alec," Max said, close to tears, "I-I should have watched for her. this is all my fault!" she said.

Alec walked over to her and held her shoulders, "Look, Arianna's is going to be fine! We just need to find her. we'll corner off a two-mile radius, then we can. wait, she's a baby! How far could she have gotten?"

Max and Alec searched around the area, under little shrubs and trees, calling out her name. They asked a few people around them, but nobody had seen her, they had all just looked at them accusingly. What kind of people would lose their own child? Ames lay beside Arianna's stroller, snoozing and wondering what all the excitement was about.

"Max? Stay here, I'm going to go get the sector cops to keep and eye out for Arianna," Alec didn't want to frighten Max even more, but somebody might have walked off with Arianna on purpose . whoever they were, they wouldn't walking for much longer.

"I'll keep searching," Max tried to keep her voice steady. What if the baby had fallen into something and couldn't get out? She'd be crying and nobody would hear her and."

"Max? Max? Stick with me! Are you ok?" Alec asked worried. He needed Max's help right now.

"M-Maybe we should call Logan," Max said.

"Oh, yeah, he can type in 'find lost baby' on his computer and solve all our problems. wait! I have an idea!" Alec exclaimed. He grabbed Arianna's blanket from off the ground. "Ames! Come here boy! That's a good dog, here, smell that?" he said stuffing the blanket under the dog's nose, "Find her! Find Arianna! Come on, if Lassie could do it, so can you!" Max looked at Alec like he was crazy.

Ames dropped his nose to ground and started sniffing around, he trailed back towards the baby stroller, "Not there, boy! That's where she was, we need to find where she is now!" he said frustrated. Ames tilted his head and looked at Alec questioningly. "Ugh! Useless animal. your going to the pound, buddy, bad dog!" Suddenly he heard the sound of a baby wailing. it was coming from the stroller.

"Arianna!" Max cried running to the stroller and picking the baby, "it's alright, we're here now, don't worry, Dada isn't taking Ames to the pound." She said stroking the baby's back till she calmed down.

Alec sighed in relief and went over to the baby, "hey kid.? don't ever do that again, my heart wouldn't be able to take it!" he hugged her gently and put her back into the stroller where she dozed off . Max and Alec stared at her for a while, that was a close call. If it hadn't been for Ames.

"Well done boy! Good dog! Guess who's getting steak tonight?" Alec said, ruffling his furry head, Ames wagged his tail happily. Suddenly Max pulled Alec closer to her and hugged him tightly. She had been so scared, "I'm so sorry Alec." She hoped he wouldn't hate her.

"Hey! What's this about? It wasn't your fault, don't be upset, everything's fine now." He said comforting her.

"I-I can't do it anymore, Alec. I'm just not mother material! Arianna could have been hurt because of me. If anything had happened to her I-"

Alec kissed her suddenly, cutting off her sentence, "She didn't get hurt and she headed straight for her stroller and didn't decide to journey through the park by herself, we taught her better." he said smiling, "You and that kid mean more to me than anything else in this world, and I wouldn't let anything happen to either of you."

Max looked back at Alec, "I just don't know if I'm a good enough mother-"

"That's because you're not her mother." A man said coming up behind Max and Alec. They turned around, surprised. Ames moved towards the stranger, growling.

"Who are you?" Alec said, glowering at the man.

"I'm Arianna's daddy."

Chapter 17: Where it Hurts

The man stood in front of Max and Alec, he was in his mid thirties, with dark hair and eyes and wore a grey trench coat. He looked at the young couple then stretched out his hand, "My name is Gary Bernstein," Alec continued glaring at him, making no effort to shake the man's hand. If he broke the guy's nose, that would give Max and Arianna a chance to-

"Look," Gary continued, "I've spent the last few months trying to find my daughter. I never knew she existed, but when I found out that my wife." he paused for a moment, "my late wife, Carla had given the baby-"

"Her name is Arianna," Max growled.

"Yes, of course. we named her after her grandmother, she was a wonderful lady."

"If you are her father, why did Carla give the baby away? Where were you when all this happened?" Alec said. His heart was slowly breaking into tinnier pieces.

"Well, Arianna's mother wasn't totally right upstairs if you know what I mean. she took off one night, and I never saw her again till I had to identify the body.. I'm not sure how it happened but somehow she landed up in hospital, but refused to offer any identification, I'm sure you know the rest."

"So what do you want?" Alec said, dreading to hear the words.

"Give me my daughter back now and I won't press charges." He watched as their faces turned pale and their jaws dropped slightly. This wasn't going to be easy, but he needed that child, she had a vital role to play. "I understand that you love her and that you want the best for her, but both of you are so young, you have your whole lives ahead of you. You don't want to be tied down with such a huge responsibility," it was working, he could see them giving in, "I can send her to the best private schools in the country, and she'll have everything she ever wants. from what I know, you two are Jam Pony bike messengers, What can you offer her anyway? Is it fair to keep her with you just because you've grown attached to her? I'm her father, her own flesh and blood she's meant to be with me."

Alec was stunned. Was he right? Was it selfish to keep Arianna with him?

"I know you want the best for her." the man said removing his trench coat and moving closer to the stroller.

Alec looked at Max helplessly, what should they do? He loved Arianna so much, but this was her father. her real father, who probably *wouldn't* buy her a rotweiller as a cuddly pet or loose her when they went to the park.

Arianna sensed the tension and started crying when she saw the big man approaching her.

Max moved over to block the Gary's path. "Nice try, I would have almost believed your heartbreaking speech, but next time you should do a better job of covering up that little breeding cult badge of honour she said, pointing to the brand mark on his arm. "I think barcodes are much more tasteful anyway, don't you agree?" she said turning to Alec, who was by now very pissed off.

"Damn, I knew I forgot something! Anyway, I tried to give you an easy way out it but nothing is ever easy with you transgenics." He said leaping into the air and aiming a kick at Alec's chest.

"I believe the politically correct term is 'genetically enhanced'" Alec stated, blocking the attack and smashing Gary's nose. "Ouch, that almost hurt," Gary rose again and hurled Alec against a tree. "You don't have a chance," he said as he and Alec sparred. Max joined in, kicking Gary where it hurt watched as he fell to the ground.

"Ow." Alec said, cringing when saw Max deliver the kick, "I know how much that hurts, and all I can say is that you deserved it!" he watching Gary lie on the ground in pain. "You can go back and tell your breeding buddies. that just sounds bad. anyway, you can tell them that Arianna is our daughter now and anyone who tries to take her away is going to get their butts kicked by me!"

"And me too!" Max said, repeating her kick one final time, she was furious.

"Ohhh. he's not going to do any breeding any time soon!" Alec said, turning to Max, grinning, "See? That's why I love you so much."

Chapter 18: Sector Three Elementary

"No school!" Arianna said stubbornly. Max and Alec sat back down onto the couch, defeated. Arianna wasn't giving in. Their daughter stood in the middle of the lounge half dressed and refused to move.

"Look, honey," Max said patiently, "You're not *going* to school. We're just going there for an interview, I promise, if you don't like it, you don't have to go there."

"Don't make me go.please? Ames will be all alone, and he'll miss me!" Arianna pleaded, looking at Alec helplessly. He would always give in to her.

"Not this time, kid. that helpless puppy look won't get you anywhere. Everyone has to go to school, kid. school is a fun place where you train, and make new friends in your unit. er. I mean class."

"Did you and mommy have to go to school? Did you like it?"

"uh, yeah, well we went to a boarding school. where they don't let you leave, and they make you uh, play in the field a lot.but your new school is going to be great! I know it is."

Arianna sighed, "Fine, I'll go, but promise you won't leave me there?" she asked them.

"We promise," Alec said.

"Can I bring Ames?"

"No!"

Alec watched as Arianna hurried to get ready. He couldn't believe that she'd grown up so fast! Now she was going to elementary school. then high school.then university. ugh! Then she'd leave him! "Hey Arianna! Come over here!" Alec called. The little girl went over to him and sat on his lap. "Are you still going to stay with us forever?"

Arianna giggled, "Yes daddy!"

"And you won't fall in love with some boy and get married?"

"No way! Yucky!"

"Good, just checking, now go get mommy, we have to be at school in 15 minutes!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So you are not her biological parents?" the guidance counsellor asked. Max and Alec sat nervously in their seats in the office. Arianna had reluctantly joined a classroom of children and was busy painting.

"uh, no but we are her legal guardians, the adoption papers are in the file." Alec explained.

"Oh, I see, you got married, then adopted a child when you found out you couldn't have your own because of. uh, medical problems?" she asked, turning to Alec.

"No! All the parts of me work just fine!" Alec said indignantly.

"We're not married," Max stated.

"Oh! Well, there are lots of single parents out there."

Max and Alec grew uncomfortable. So they weren't the perfect family. but no family was perfect, they all had their own problems! Look at the Simpsons!

"Let's move on. I need you to answer a few questions for me. Is your daughter a allergic to any substances or have any other medical ailments?"

"No," Max answered, "but she really doesn't like those little hazel nuts in her ice cream, oh, and when she's got a cold she sometime does this cute little sneeze thing, it's *so* adorable, and- uh, I'll let you get back to your questions."

"Thank you," the counsellor said, looked back down at her piece of paper, " Is your daughter related to a transgenic or is she herself genetically altered in some way?"

Alec thought for a second. There was the possibility that Arianna might be involved with that breeding cult. but her genetic make up was 100% normal. "She's not a transgenic, and we don't really know anything about her real parents. but both of us are from the X series."

"Ok," the counsellor said writing on a piece of paper, "Would you like your daughter to be in the Transgenic Inclusion class, Transgenic free class or the Integrated class?"

"Huh?" Max and Alec said together.

After the initial scare, the public had grown to accept the idea of transgenics. there was still some tension between the groups, but for the most part the ordinaries had just gotten on with their lives, there were bigger things to worry about.

"Well, some parents want their children to be in classrooms with their own kind so there are separate classes for 'transgenics' and 'ordinaries' then the Integrated class is for both."

"Definitely the Integrated class," Alec said, looking to Max for confirmation. She nodded, transgenics were part of society now, and Arianna would have to learn to get along with them. maybe then they could tell her the truth about where she and Alec had come from. They finished answering the questions and signed a few documents.

"Congratulations, your daughter is officially a student of the Sector Three Elementary School."

Chapter 19: The Dawg Cheats

The school bell rang and little children poured out of the building, waving goodbye to each other. Alec got out of the car and quickly scanned the crowd of midgets, looking for Arianna. Just then he felt a hand slip into his. Max.

"Hey, Alec." Max said smiling up at him.

"Max! What are you doing here? I thought it was my day to pick Arianna up." He said surprised. Damn, he screwed up the times again.

"It is your turn, but I thought we could all go out for a soda or something. We haven't done that in ages." She said, hopefully. She and Alec hardly ever saw each other at work, and they never spent time with Arianna as a. well, as a normal family.

Alec hung his arm around her shoulder, "Sure thing! Let's find the tiny fella first though, I can't see her anywhere." He needed to complete phase one of his plan this afternoon, but he could still squeeze in a soda. Max was going to be thrilled, when she found out what he was plotting... but it had to be done at exactly the right time, it had to be perfect. The most important thing though was to keep it a surprise. Even though neither of them had actually said those three little words, he knew Max felt it. She knew he loved her, right?

"Mommy, Daddy!" A little figure cried out, skipping towards them.

"Hi, Aydee, how was school?" Max asked hugging her daughter.

"It was great! We had races in the playground and Raymond came in first place again. he's always in first place, but I came in second!" she babbled excitedly."

"That's awesome, honey!" Max said smiling.

"Who is this Raymond kid anyway? Are his parents from an X series?" Alec asked.

Max nudged her elbow into Alec's side. Why did he have to be so competitive? "We're proud of you, Aydee, now why don't we go get a soda to celebrate?

Alec took the little girl's pink backpack and hurried her and Max into the car. "I agree. first place, second place. what's the difference?" There was a very big difference, but as long as Arianna was happy, he was happy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec sipped his drink slowly, nervously checking his watch. She should be calling him anytime now. then he'd have to make up an excuse to leave. Max half listened to Arianna's chatting, while studying Alec. Something was wrong. Why was he acting so strange? Why did he keep checking his watch?

"Do you have somewhere else to be, Alec?" Max asked a little annoyed.

"Huh? Oh! No. I'm just making sure that my watch is running. you know, 'cos when the weather gets this hot my watch stops running, and uh. So what were you saying, Arianna?" Alec asked, turning his attention to the little girl sipping a green mint milkshake. Whew, that had been a close one. He really had to act more natural, and not get his nerves all hyperactive.

"I was telling you about what Ames did to your new sunglasses, Daddy."

"What!?"

"Just kidding," she said giggling. "I was talking about families. Ms Erik told us that all Mommy's and Daddy's met then decided that they love each other. You and Daddy love each other, right?"

"Of course we do, honey," Max said cautiously, she wished it were that simple.

"Well, Ms Erik said that when Mommy's and Daddy's love each other they get married, so why aren't you and Daddy married?"

Alec held his breath. Think of something. *don't* give her a clue. "Mommy's and Daddy's don't have to be married, Aydee. Lot's of people-"

"Hi Boo's!"

They all turned to see O.C. standing behind them. Alec had never been so happy to see her.

"Hey, Cindy!" Max said. She was a little sorry that she had interrupted when she did. What did Alec mean? Did he *never* want to get married? Being married was all she ever thought about nowadays. The thought was incredibly exciting. but what if Alec didn't want that?

Alec's cell phone started ringing. "I really have to take this call," he said getting up quickly and walking away from the table.

O.C. ruffled Arianna's hair and sat down in his place; then she noticed the hurt look on Max's face, "What's the matter, Max? Come on, tell me. is that dawg not treating you right?" Max's and Alec's relationship had always confused her, but Max had always been fine with it. until now.

"It's nothing O.C. It's just that Ale-" she glanced over at Arianna, not wanting her to hear this conversation. "I mean the *dawg* has been acting strange lately, and I just realised that he might not want to settle for one mate for the rest of his life."

"He wants to play around in the field more? I told you Max, all dawgs cheat. It's a fact of life. There could be something else on his mind though, you never know." O.C. didn't want to give up on Alec totally.

"Your right, it's just that sometimes I get so frustrated with him. what does the dawg want?"

"Are you talking about Ames?" Arianna asked Max. "Because all he wants is food."

Alec came back to the table and looked at Max, "Listen, I have to go for a quick walk. to uh, take care of some business stuff. so you and Aydee take the car back home, and don't stay up and wait for me, I'm going to be back late." He hugged Arianna and waved to O.C. before heading out the door.

"Sure, that's fine," Max called out. Since when did Alec have 'business stuff' to take care of? Something else was going on. She looked at Cindy helplessly.

"I'll drive Aydee home, right now you better go keep and eye on your dawg, cos he aint playing fair."

Max told Arianna that she'd be home soon, then rushed out the door after Alec. She had to know.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec walked down the street hurriedly. He couldn't wait to see- Was somebody following him? Nah, he was just paranoid. he had done a lot of sneaking around this week. It was all worth it though. He walked up to the door of someone's home and knocked gently at the door.

Max watched him silently..Where was Alec going? Who the hell lived here?

The door opened and a young woman with short red hair emerged, invited a grinning Alec inside, and closed the door. Max crept closer to the home and watched through the window. Maybe Alec was making a late package delivery. she had never seen him look so happy while working. actually it was the happiest he had looked in ages. Alec reached over to the woman and hugged her tightly. Max had seen enough. She got up and left.

"Calm down, Alec" then woman laughed. "She hasn't even said yes yet!"

"Thank you so much for doing this, Christina! I can't wait to see the look on Max's face when she sees this!"

Alec opened the velvet box to reveal a elegant golden ring with a delicate diamond rose in it's centre.

"She's definitely going to say yes."

Chapter 20: Yes. it *was* something you said.



Max glared at the television angrily. "Don't listen to him, Maria! Ricardo doesn't really love you! He's been cheating of you for two seasons already!" Max yelled at the soap opera characters.

"Mommy? You do know that soap operas aren't real?" Aydee asked, eyeing Max strangely.

"Yes. but sometimes they have some truth in them." Max replied sadly. So Alec had been seeing someone else. Was she upset? Hell yeah! Was she going to let him know that she was upset? That he had just put her heart into a blender and pushed the start button? Never. It's not like he'd ever *said* that he was in love with her so technically he was still not hers. he never would be. Maybe Alec just wasn't interested in long-term commitments. but she was.

"Hey Maxie," Alec walked in, wearing a goofy smile. He felt for the ring in his jacket, and decided to leave it there for now. Max was going to be so surprised when he popped the question. Life was perfect.

"Hey Alec," Don't ask him about the woman. don't ask him about the woman. Life sucked. "So where did you go?" she asked. He'd never tell her the truth.

Alec's mind raced. The best lie was one kept closest to the truth. "I just went over to Christina's place pick something up."

"Who's Christina? What did you have up pick p?" Max interrogated.

Alec grinned, was Max a little jealous? Did she follow him or something? "If you must know it's a surprise. for you. Christina's just a *friend* besides, I think she'd like O.C. more than me. if you know what I mean."

Max was a little embarrassed. "Oh. I, uh. I just thought that.mmmff" her words muffled as Alec wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him for a kiss.

"I love you, and only you." Alec stated, still not letting her go.

Max gazed back at him, beaming. He had said it! He loved her! Life was perfect!

There was a pause and Alec coughed, looking at Max questioningly.

"Oh, right!" Max said, "I love you too!"

Alec laughed, "Good I was getting a little worried there."

"You'll never have to worry about us." Max replied pulling him closer for another kiss.

"Eeeeew!" Aydee said when she saw her parents together. "You're giving each other germs!"

"Don't worry Aydee." Max said, "Alec gets shots every month so he's germless."

"Yep, and Mommy has perfect DNA, which probably means she has perfect germs."

"I'm going to play with Ames. kissing is gross. yucky." Aydee stated, skipping to her room.

"Well, let's hope she feels that way in ten years," Alec said laughing.

"Ten years is a long time. Can I ask you something Alec?" Max said pulling away from him a bit. She had to know. Alec nodded and looked at her concernedly.

"Do you want to. I mean, do you ever, in the future. someday, when you find the right person. ever want to. you know. get married?" Max looked down at the floor. Say yes, say yes, say yes.

Alec tensed and cleared his throat. Did she know that he was going to ask her? No. how could she. He had to keep it a surprise. he couldn't give her any clues. "Me?" Alec laughed nervously, "Me? Married? Please, Max. could you ever see someone like *me* tying the knot?" Nice recovery.

"Oh." Max said. so that was it, he didn't want to get married. ever. Next time just shoot me through the heart, Alec.

"Max? Hey. Max? Are you ok?" He'd done a good job, she had believed him.

"Yeah. I just need time to think." She said grabbing her keys and heading for the door. Alec couldn't commit. did she want to be with someone who would never marry her? Was it worth it?

"Max? What's wrong?" Alec asked confused. Did he just miss something? He went after her, only to have the door slammed in his face.

"Was it something I said?"

Chapter 21: Don't Surprise a Girl

Max sat alone at a table in Crash, thinking. "So let's review the situation: Alec doesn't want to get married, but I do... where does that leave us?" She tried figuring a way for the situation to work, but she just couldn't see a way... "Maybe another drink will help me concentrate better." she stated.

"Famous last words." Sketchy said, slumping down in the seat opposite Max. "Trust me, drinking will just worsen the problem... what's wrong? Trouble in paradise?"

"I just need time alone to think right now, Sketch" Max said, hoping he'd take the hint. He didn't.

"Thinking is good... I do a lot of thinking... some people don't know it, but I'm a very deep person." he said seriously. "Everything okay with your little girl?"

"Yeah, Aydee is fine, Alec is the problem."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alec walked back and forth in his lounge, trying desperately to figure out what he had said to piss Max off. "Ok, Ames." he said crouching down to the dog's eye-level, "I love Max, she loves me. I want to marry Max and Max will *probably* want to marry me too. Max thinks that I want to be single for the rest of my life and... oh!" Alec said, "That's the problem! She thinks I don't want to marry her! Ugh... well she'll be mad at me now but wait till I propose tonight. She'll see that I *had* to lie for the surprise to work out properly."

Ames tilted his head and looked at Alec strangely, "You're right, boy... it was a dumb idea, but gimme a break, I'm new at this! I've never proposed to anyone before. Ok, there was this one time when I was *really* drunk and I- you probably don't want to hear about that."

"Hey, Daddy... look what I found!" Aydee said, running into the room and showing Alec the beautiful ring hanging loosely on her thumb.

"Whoa!" Alec cried, jumping up, "That's a very special ring, Aydee... I bought it for Mommy." he said, carefully taking the ring from his daughter and placing it on the table.

"Why haven't you given it to her then?"

"Because I want to surprise her," Alec said grinning down at her, "But it's a secret so you *can't* tell her, Ok?" he said stroking her dark hair.

"Ok, daddy... It's our secret!" she said, turning to hug her dog. "Ames wants to see the ring too Daddy," Aydee stated, picking the ring up and letting Ames inspect it.

"No!" Alec cried, lunging towards the dog... but it was too late. Alec watched in horror as the ring had disappeared into the dark cavity of Ames's mouth.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You think Alec can't commit?" Sketchy said with a smirk. That was probably the furthest thing from the truth. Alec had told him about proposing to Max, but he obviously hadn't done it yet. "I know that Alec loves you, Max. who else could put up with your crap all the time?" he said laughing. He'd better not drop any hints or else Alec would kill him. The guy was really into surprises. It wasn't like the Manticore kids ever gathered around a Christmas tree and gave each other stuffed toys. Max and Alec had it tough there, but he was glad to see them happy now.

"I know he loves me, but sometimes that's not enough. I need to know that he wants to be with me forever. Is that too much to ask?" Max said helplessly. She was asking *Sketchy* why men couldn't commit. she must be desperate.

"Well some guys just find it hard. Who would give up a life of eternal bachelorhood for a dull married life?" Alec definitely would. "But Alec is different, you guys were like Breeding Buddies, right? Two soldiers. brought together by genes, torn apart by marital issues. that would make a great cover story!"

"Nice try, but I told you before. we're trying *not* to stand out. There are still a few anti-transgenic psycho's out there. Anyway back to the original topic. men suck."

"Enough with the deep sharing stuff, wanna play pool with me?" Sketchy asked.

"Nah, I'm good here, thanks anyway." Max replied, sipping her drink.

"Fine, you sulk, but I'm going to have a good time. and Max? If you ever need someone to talk to or to bitch about men to. O.C. is only a phone call away." He said, getting up, "Okay... I better go, here comes a member of your fan club," he continued, looking over Max's shoulder, and walking away.

Max slumped over the table, not turning around. She didn't want to talk to Alec right now... or ever. No, wait, she didn't mean that, she was just upset. The footsteps came closer and she felt him standing next to her, very close. Alec should really change his cologne, that stuff smelled awful.

"Max... marry me?" A voice came from above her. She looked up startled, into the eyes of... Logan?"

Chapter 22: The Ring

Max smirked and looked back up Logan.

"Please, Max? I love you, and only you... It's so clear to me now!" he pleaded, stumbling onto one knee and pulling out a gold ring with a large diamond at it's center.

"Are you serious?" Max asked, looking down at him.

"Without a doubt" Logan stated, nodding.

"You really love me?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to commit to a relationship?"

"One hundred percent."

"Are you ready for marriage?"

"Definately."

"Are you drunk?"

"Absolutely!"

Max laughed and pulled Logan off the ground and into the seat oppostite her. Right words... wrong guy.

"Let me guess." Max said to him, "You proposed to Asha, she said no, and now you're down here drowning your sorrows?"

"No! Well... yes... but after the first seven drinks, everything suddenly became clear! I was meant to be with you!"

"Thanks, but I kinda like someone else right now." Max said, giggling. Poor Logan, she felt sorry for him, but he was so funny when he got drunk.

"Hey, you!" Logan called to a girl at another table, "Wanna marry me?" She gave Logan a strange look, and moved away.

"See?" Logan said defeated, "Nobody wants me!" He banged his head down onto the table and left it there.

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"Come on Ames! That's the fourth hot dog... don't you feel like pooping yet?" Alec pleaded. The dog looked back at Alec, wagging his tail, waiting for his next snack. After Ames had swallowed the ring, Alec had called the Vet. She said the best thing to do would be to let the dog pass it out naturally. Alec then called the babysitter for Arianna, and headed out to the park with Ames.

"This is useless!" Alec cried. The dog's digestive system was working to slow.

"Look boy! There's another tree!" Suddenly the dog bounded towards the tree and proceeded to relieve himself.

"Yes! Good boy! Woohoo!" Alec cried. He received strange looks from passers by, but he didn't care. He was going to get the ring back, and when he did he was going to find Max and ask her to marry him as soon as possible, before he messed anything else up. She had said something about wanting to be alone to think... she was either on the Space Needle or at Crash, he'd have to check both. But first, he'd have to figure out how to pick the ring up from the smelly mound... and wash it off...

Please?" Logan asked, trying to grab Max's hand and put the ring on her.

"No." she said, laughing. She took Logan's drink away from him. "I think you've had enough for one night."

"Pleeeaase marry me?" he continued, finally getting the ring onto Max's thumb.

"No!" she said again, taking the ring off to inspect it. It was a bit too corny for her taste, she wanted her ring to be original... and elegant. Not that she'd ever get one.

"Look how beautiful that diamond is, do you know how much it cost? It was made just for you..."

"For my darling Asha." Max said, reading the inscription.

"We can have it changed!"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Asha had probably gotten freaked when Logan had proposed, she'd come to her senses soon enough and agree to marry Logan. They were in love.

"Fine! I'm going to go home!" he mumbled, stumbling out of his chair. "None of the females in Seattle want to marry me!"

"You're *not* driving home like this!" Max stated, shoving Logan down into his seat. "Stay here, I'm going to call Asha to come and get you."

"You can't stop me from leaving, I'm a grown man!" he said hiccupping.

"Please? Stay here for two seconds and I'll be back, don't get into any trouble."

"If you want me to stay... you have to agree to marry me!"

"Fine!" Anything to shut him up.

Logan got down one knee and on the fourth try managed to get the ring onto her finger. It didn't help that he was seeing double.

"Good! Now hug me!" Logan stated. Max leaned over and gave him a pat on the back. He would be *so* embarrassed about this when he sobered up.

"Great, now stay, and don't ask any other girls to marry you, okay? You've scared away half the customers already." She said grinning and walking towards the pay phone.

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Alec's head started spinning. What the hell had Logan done? The idiot had put a ring on Max's finger! He had proposed to her, and she'd hugged him... No wonder Max had been asking him all these questions about marriage. she wanted to marry Logan. Alec stood at the entrance of crash, watching. Maybe there was an explanation. Logan could have tripped and the ring could have accidentally slipped onto Max's finger... not likely. One thing was for sure, he was going to go over to Logan right now and-

"Hey, Alec!" Logan said, grinning and waving at the seething X5, "Guess what? Max and I are getting married!"

Chapter 23: So Close

The noise around him faded away as Alec's eye's locked with Logan's. He walked slowly towards the bar. There was definitely a mistake here. There *had* to be! He just needed to calm down, resist the urge to break Logan's--

"Alec! Buddy! Sit down, let me buy you a drink!" Logan called, patting the seat next to him... nearly falling off his own seat in the process.

"Woah, there!" Alec said, steadying Logan. He was drunk!

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"Just put us all out of our misery and marry the man, Asha!" Max ordered into the phone.

Asha's voice came across the phone line "But what if it doesn't work out? What if--"

"What if it's not the perfect fairytale you envisioned?" Max interrupted, "Trust me, it's never going to be like that. Yes, you'll have your problems, and yes, you might feel like strangling him sometimes... but the truth is you love each other, right?"

"Right"

"So the man you're in love with just told you he wants to spend the rest of his life loving you and taking care of you... and you said no because you're afraid things won't be easy?" Max asked Asha.

"Oops... Well if you put it like that... Don't let him leave! I'll be there in 10 minutes!" Asha said quickly before hanging up.

Max shook her head, smiling. Logan owed her one. Sometimes she wished that she could have loved Logan instead. Things would have been *way* more simple... way more boring. Why did she have to fall in love with Alec? Max made her way back to the bar, then she saw him. Alec. He had a beer bottle raised threateningly over Logan, who's upper body lay sprawled on the counter, blood oozing from his head...

"No! Alec stop!" Max cried as she raced towards him, tackling him to the ground. "What the hell were you thinking?" She asked, pinning his shoulders to the ground.

"First of all, *ouch* secondly I loved the tackle but we really should save that stuff for when we're alone and lastly... what the hell are you talking about!?" Alec yelled, confused.

Logan groaned and stirred a little. "What did you do to Logan?" Max asked, frowning.

"Nothing! I'd never hurt an old drunk man! What do you take me for?" Alec asked, pretending to be insulted.

Max looked at Alec, confused, "But there was blood on--"

"You mean the hot dog Logan fell asleep in?" Alec shook his head, grinning and leaned closer to Max whispering, "You'd think after years of training in a secret government agency, you'd be able to tell the difference between blood and ketchup. oh... and as much as I'm enjoying this, do you think you could get off me, people are staring."

"Er, right." Max said, blushing. She felt like a complete idiot. "I'm sorry, Alec, I don't know what's gotten into me lately."

"Don't worry, I would have done the same thing." Alec said.

"No, you wouldn't have."

"Yeah, you're right... I would have known better. Oh! Logan told me about your little... uh, *engagement*" Alec said grinning.

Max rolled her eyes, "I think I've sorted that problem out though, Asha's coming over now." She took the ring off her finger, a little embarrassed.

Alec looked at her, he knew the 'proposal' had been fake, but it still hurt a little to see Max wearing someone else's ring.

"I don't think it suited me anyway..." Max said, "it's just too..."

"Corny?" Alec offered.

"Exactly! Besides, Logan put it on the wrong hand." Max said, laughing.

"I'm here!" Asha stated, when she found Max and Alec.

"Asha! I've never been happier to see you!" Alec said grinning, "Take Logan home, please, before he causes anymore trouble."

Asha went over to a semi-sober Logan and took his hand, "Logan? I want to marry you! I was talking to Max on the phone, she reminded me how lucky I was to have someone like you, and I don't ever want to loose that... ever."

"Hey, I think you'll need this," Max said, tossing the ring to Asha. Logan gave Asha a goofy smile as she led him out of Crash.

Max sighed. She was happy for them... but it wasn't fair! Why did she get stuck with the gorgeous guy who didn't want her? Why did she have to love Alec so much?

"Wow, that's great that they're gonna get married." Alec said, looking down at Max. This was it, he couldn't wait a second longer or he'd explode! He lowered himself onto one knee...

"Yeah, well unfortunately *some* of us don't want to get married, and what are you doing on the floor?" Max asked irritated.

"Uh, I was... tying my shoelaces!" That was bad timing.

Max looked at Alec. He was the one thing she wanted most in the world but could never have. "I need to go get some air... alone."

Alec watched confused as Max left. The one thing he'd wanted most in the world was walking away from him.

Chapter 23: How it ended

Max sniffed as she walked down the street, a light drizzle had soon turned into a steady shower. Why was she so upset? Things had been fine between them. Why go ruin it with marriage. She had never depended on a guy before, and she wasn't going to start now. If only she could get her heart to feel the same way...

"Max!" Alec called after her, racing down the wet sidewalk. He skidded to a halt just in front of her, almost falling over.

"Alec, I said I wanted to be--"

"Shut up and listen to me!" Alec said yelled. He bent down onto one knee again, his clothes were soaked right through and his hair fell all over his face.

"Max, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about." He looked up at her, her dark eyes were looking at him questioningly. "That first day... that met back at Manticore, I knew that you were special. You are the most beautiful person I've ever known, without you my life would have gone the wrong direction. You were always there to bail me out of trouble, when I needed you, even when I didn' want you help. You are my best friend, and my heart, I don't ever want that to end." Alec sighed and drew the ring from his jacket, holding it up to her, "I know I'm not the esiest person to love and I know that we're going to have rough times, but if I don't ask you to be mine right now I'll never forgive myself. So uh..." Alec momentarly panicked and pulled out a soogy piece of paper from his jacket and skimmed it, "Oh! And I promise to make you happy and love you for the rest of my life because you are the only one I've ever wanted." He gently took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.

Max looked at Alec, unable to form words. She knelt down beside him on the cold, wet ground.

Alec's heart sunk, "Say something, please?" he pleaded into her eyes, "If this isn't what you want just tell me now, we'll pretend this never happened... we can go back to the way things were before... I'll never mphhh..." His words were lost in a kiss.

"Why didn't you tell me you wanted to marry me?" Max asked hitting him on the shoulder, but Alec hardly felt it..

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise... I had this beautifull dinner planned for us but then you were mad at me, and Aydee found the ring, then Ames ate the ring, then there was the whole thing at Crash and--"

"The dog ate the ring! How did you get it out? Wait... never mind, I don't want to know." She said smiling as Alec drew closer for another kiss

The End

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Thanks to everyone who read this fic! You guys are so nice!

Yeah, so the ending was a liiiiittle like soap opera... but you don't mind, right?