Friendship and Love

Dedication: jt, for giving me the breakthrough in writing this chapter. Thank you so much! I would also like to thank the reviewers who've been reading this fic for 19 chapters now. We've still got a ways to go before the end and I want to thank you guys for holding out this long. Anyway, enjoy this latest installment and keep reviewing! I love the feedback and please, please don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Speculate about what might happen next. Tell me what you think of the characters. Letting me know that people read this story keeps me going and makes me very happy! Anyway, read on!

"Ass," I said, slamming the apartment door open and throwing my jacket onto the couch. Bree locked the door behind me as I threw off my sneakers.

"Bastard," I grumbled as I stomped into my bedroom and rummaged through my drawers.

"Jerk!" I muttered, while changing out of my clothes and into a pair of boxers and a shirt. Snatching the comb from my dresser, I continued to rant, "How dare that asshole tell me that Peter doesn't love me?!"

"Bobbie" Bree began, but stopped when I glared at her.

"Don't start, Bree," I snapped, combing my hair into a wrap around my head. "I swear to God if you start, I'm going to scream."

"Bobbie, what happened?" my sister asked, leaning against my bedroom door.

Wrapping my head with a head wrap, I said, "You saw what happened at Benny's."

"I know what I saw," said my sister. "You and Alec had a fight."

"That's right we had a fight," I said, tightening the wrap around my head. "He had the nerve, the gall to tell me that Peter doesn't really love me. What the hell does he know?" Bree looked at me with uncertain eyes. I glared at her.

"What?" I snarled. "Do you want to say something?"

Bree held up her hands. "It's nothing."

Slamming the comb onto my dresser, I crossed my arms and stared hard at my younger sister. "Bree, what were you going to say?"

Keeping her face calm, my sister asked, "Don't you think Alec only said that stuff because he cares?" I looked at her incredulously.

"Oh, he said Peter didn't love me because he cares?" I asked in a mocking voice. "He's always hated Peter. Tonight just showed me how deep the hate really runs."

Raising an eyebrow at me, Bree asked, "But don't you hate Max?"

"If you're going to be technical about it"

"Bobbie," my sister began, "I don't like you guys fighting."

"Join the club," I said.

"That said," Bree continued, "Don't go to bed mad." She moved over to me, resting her body against my dresser. Gritting my teeth in annoyance, I glared up at her. Apparently ignoring the look on my face, Bree stared back at me.

"Alec and I aren't a couple in a 'Can this marriage be saved?' column," I said. "The way I see it, he owes me an apology. He knows I love Peter. He also knows that the reason I didn't tell my ex-boyfriend about being a transgenic is because I wasn't ready yet. If there's anybody who's going to be tossing and turning in his sleep tonight, it should be Alec." Satisfied that I had made my point clear, I crossed my arms and stared back at my sister. She simply stared back at me, making more irritated and annoyed.

Sighing, I said, "Okay, maybe I should have been a little bit nicer about her."

"Maybe you should have," said Bree.

"And maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him about her," I continued. "After all, he likes her in a really big way and if I hate him telling me what to do about Peter, what does he think about me telling him what to do about Max?"

"He probably hates it," said Bree in a soft voice.

"That's right," I said reluctantly.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

I glared at my sister again. "I have to grovel, don't I?"

Bree smiled at that. "I don't think groveling's the answer. Don't tell me you're going to stop speaking to him for a week?"

"I can do it if I want to!"

Bree gave me a look of disbelief.

"Bobbie," she began. "You and Alec are tight. You two won't last a day without speaking."

"Well, I guess you're right," I grumbled. "He is our brother."

"That's right," said Bree. "It's like Manticore always said, the unit is the family. We come from each other. Hurt one, hurt all."

"That is true," I agreed. "I guess if I go over to the hospital and give him, let's say, a bottle of tryptophan, all is forgiven?"

Giving a little laugh, my sister said, "I should say so."

I grinned at her. "All right. Give me a minute and I'll head out for the hospital. Want to come?"

"No thanks," said Bree with a shake of her head. "I need to get up for work tomorrow."

Shrugging, I said, "Suit yourself. Get some sleep and I'll see you at TC tomorrow."

"Will do," said my sister, exiting out of my bedroom, and heading towards the guestroom.

"Okay, Bobbie," I said to myself. "Let's do this." With that, I took off my head wrap and combed my hair out. I walked over to my bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet. On the top shelf, there were two bottles of tryptophan. One was full and the other was halfway finished. I reached up to take the full bottle for Alec.

I was going to give him the half-bottle, but with the fight, a full bottle was the only way to make amends. Besides, I could always swipe an extra bottle from the Psych Ward. I started to close the cabinet door when I felt a small tremor pass through my arm. I dropped my hand away from the cabinet door as I stared at my hand, which started to tremble. Feeling my heart race, I took a step back, closed my eyes, and tried to take a deep breath. I frowned in distaste, as my mouth tasted like moldy socks.

I didn't have time to think too much on the funny taste in my mouth when a strong wave overtook me and I slumped against the bathroom wall, my arm hitting the hamper. Oh, God, I thought. Oh God. Oh God. My entire upper body began to shake, hitting hard against the wall. I could feel the bruises rise upon my skin. I grimaced in pain as my right foot kept hitting the toilet bowl. My vision blurred as my entire body shook and shook and shook. I struggled to open my mouth and yell for Bree, but the words just wouldn't come. Screw Manticore. God, I fucking hate this. Somebody help!, I thought as darkness overtook me.

"Bobbie." I was warm, so warm and safe. It's so nice being in the dark. I didn't have to think, fight or do anything. Just stay in this nice warm place.

"Bobbie!" There was a voice. Dimly, I could feel arms wrap around me. I don't want to wake up. I like it here. It's nice.

"Dear God, wake up!" A large hand held my head. I could feel fingers prying into my mouth and these things were in my mouth. Instantly, I gagged and tried to push the hand away.

"Leave m'lone," I mumbled. "Go 'way." The fingers pried into my mouth again, this time stronger and forced those things into my mouth again. Absently, I could feel those things coming down my throat. How? I can't move. I don't want to move. I like the dark.

"Bobbie, can you hear me?" There it was again. That voice. My eyes are so heavy. Why are they so damn heavy?

"Bobbie, come on," the voice said. "Don't die on me." Die? Who said anything about dying? Slowly, my eyes opened, my vision cloudy for a moment. Then the blurry images slowly straightened. I could see Bree staring at me, with her arms wrapped around her chest. Her eyes were wide with fright.

"Is she going to be okay?" Bree asked, her eyes darting to the big body sitting next to mine. I kept staring at her, wide-eyed. What the hell happened? Gingerly, I turned my head to the big body sitting beside me. Hazel eyes stared at me with worry. God, my neck hurts.

"Alec?" I asked, wincing at my aching throat. "What are you doing here?" Those hazel eyes shone with happiness as he held up a cup before me.

"Bobbie, you okay?" he asked, bringing the cup to my lips. "Here. Drink." Instinctively, I opened my mouth and slowly drank the liquid. Alec pressed the cup to my lips until I drank it all. Once I was done, he set the empty cup on the night table on the left side of my bed.

"God, what happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse as Bree handed Alec a Kleenex to wipe my lips. My brother wiped the milk off my lips as I scowled at him.

"Alec, I'm not a baby," I said, feeling a little irritated.

"You had a seizure," said my brother, putting the used Kleenex into the wastebasket.

"A seizure?" I repeated, feeling a little dumb. "Didn't feel like anything I've ever felt before." I looked into the mirror overhead my dresser. I was sitting in my bed and my face looked a little drained, and my eyes were blood-shot.

"Each one's different," said my brother in a brisk voice. "You feel okay?"

"I think I'm good," I said, bringing a hand to my neck. "Oooh. God, my neck's sore."

"You fell," said Bree. "You hit your head on the floor and started banging. I called Alec when I saw you needed help." I turned to my brother who was putting the cap back on the tryptophan bottle.

"That was supposed to be your gift," I said, looking at the bottle. Alec stared at me in confusion.

"My what?" he asked.

"Your gift," I said. "To make up for the fight we had today. That was supposed to be your bottle." Alec stared at the tryptophan bottle in his hands.

"I don't care," he said. "This helped you. You keep it."

"Alec," I began.

"Don't start, Bob," said my brother. "I'll swipe a bottle from the Psych Ward at Harbor Lights. You just had a seizure. You need the pills."

"So do you," I said. Alec reached out to grasp my hands.

"We'll share," he said.

I took a deep breath, wincing when I felt my chest ache. "Okay. You win."

"Good."

"For now," I said. "I'll convince you later to take what you need."

"Bobbie"

"Alec, don't argue," I said. "If I didn't feel so bad, I'd kick your ass." Alec grinned at me.

"Looks like she's back," he said.

"Was I ever gone?" I asked with a small smile. Alec and Bree smiled back as I settled my back onto my pillow.

Leaning against the doorjamb, Bree asked, "Anybody hungry? It's almost six."

"Six?" I asked. "Six in the morning?"

"Yeah, Bob," said Alec. "You were out for a couple of hours."

"I can see that," I said, turning to the alarm clock on the right side of my bed. "God, I can't believe I was out for four hours. I'm supposed to do the survey this morning."

"It can wait," said Alec. "I'll have another X5 look into it."

Shaking my head, I said, "No. No, I can't let you do that. I promised you I'd do the survey for TC and that's what I'm going to do. Soon as I'm done with that, I'm going to kick Rita's ass."

"Bobbie," Alec began with a sigh. "I know you want to help, but you know how it is with a seizure. You're wiped. You need to rest up."

"I can rest up later," I said. Alec looked unconvinced.

Growling softly, I insisted, "Look, I promise I'll grab a quick z or two during the day. I may not have shark DNA to help me stay up nights, but I can function on two hours of sleep."

"Bobbie"

I grabbed my brother's arm and squeezed. "Don't tell me what to do. I know my limits and I can do this."

Alec still looked unconvinced. "All right," he began reluctantly. "You know best."

"Damn right, I do," I said, swallowing hard. Turning to my sister, who was still leaning on the doorjamb, I ordered, "Bree, I'll have some bacon and scrambled eggs with a side of apple juice." Bree's eyes turned from me to Alec.

"Alec?" her voice was uncertain as her eyes darted between us.

Shaking his head, he replied, "You heard her, Bree. Give her what she wants."

Slowly, my sister nodded. "Okay," she said. "What do you want?"

"I'll have the same," said my brother. "Only with a side of orange juice."

"Okay," my sister said again. "There's a market across the street. It's open in an hour. Do they sell eggs over there?"

"They should," I said. "Saw a shipment come in last week. I don't know how many egg cartons are left now."

"There might be a couple," said Bree. "I'll go check. Breakfast will be ready in an hour, guys."

"Thanks, Bree," said Alec, smiling broadly at her. Bree smiled back as she left my bedroom. Alec and I sat in my bed in silence as we listened to Bree change her clothes and then leave the apartment.

Once we heard the door close, Alec asked, "You sure you're okay?"

Leaning back into my pillow again, I said, "I'm good. Feeling a bit woozy, but that's just the aftershocks talking."

"I'm glad," said my brother. "When Bree called, you scared me."

"Scared myself," I said. "It's been a while since I had them. Was kind of hoping I wouldn't have them for a nice stretch."

Alec leaned back in bed beside me. He wrapped an arm around me as he pulled me close. "About the fight," he began.

"Forget it," I interrupted. "It was stupid. You and me? Best friends for life. It makes sense we wouldn't agree on each other's lovers. Bottom line, I know you care about me."

"I care about you," said Alec in a soft voice. "I care about you too much to fight over you about Peter."

"That's sweet," I said with a smile.

"Thanks," said my brother.

"Still doesn't get you out of being nice to Jeremiah."

"Damn!"

I laughed at that. "So, Bree called you at the hospital, huh?"

"Yeah, she did," said Alec. "Max wanted to come by, but she knows how much you don't like her. She sends her regards, though." I pulled away from my brother, eyebrows raised.

"Max wanted come by?" I asked.

"Yeah, she did," Alec replied. "Even had a big fight with Logan about it."

"Logan?" I echoed. "Those two were fighting over me?"

"Yeah, you," said Alec, giving me a gentle squeeze. "Logan said it was just a seizure. Guess he wanted to continue the fight they were having."

"Another fight between the lovebirds?" I asked.

"They're not lovebirds," said Alec, glaring at me.

"Whatever," I said with my best innocent face. "Come on, tell me what those two were arguing about?"

"Well," began Alec, "Max wanted Logan to stay overnight. Put himself into the hospital's rehab program."

"They have a rehab program for transgenic blood junkies?"

"I guess so," said Alec with a shrug. "In any case, those two were ready to throw some chairs. Well, Max was all for taking the nonviolent approach, but Logan had something a little more physical in mind."

"Did you break it up?"

"I was about to, but Bree called on my cell. Said you were having a seizure."

"Bet that soured things up," I said.

"You ain't kidding," said Alec. "Max said she wanted to come with me, but Logan wanted to finish the fight."

"Where is she now?"

"At her place."

"Oh," I said, deep in thought. Alec peered down at me.

"You okay?" he asked again. Glaring at him, I gently punched him on the shoulder.

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

Giving my brother a sour look, I said, "About how I'd really have to be nice her today and mean it." Alec looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"What!" I exclaimed. "I'm holding up my end of the bargain, just like you. Only I'm going to really mean it."

Alec gave me a tight smile and shook his head. "God, Bobbie, it really kills you, doesn't it?"

Crossing my arms, I said, "What do you mean?"

"Being nice. To Max. It really and truly kills you to be nice to the girl."

"Hey," I began in protest, "She offered to come by and help me when I was having a seizure. The least I can do is be nice to her for it. I may not like her, but I'm going to try and be fair."

"I guess that's all I can ask," said Alec in a stony voice.

"Hey!" I said again, forcing him to look directly at me. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean, Bob," said my brother. "As of now, I've come to the sad conclusion, that I will never understand you."

"Okay," I said, holding up my hands. "Back up and slam the damn breaks. What do you mean you will never understand me? I'm your best friend!"

"You are," said my brother," but I will never fully understand your hate for Max."

"I don't have a hate for Max," I said. "There are just some things about her I don't like."

"Like what?" my brother challenged. "Give me a reason. Any reason why you hate Max so damn much?"

"Okay," I said again, giving a little laugh. "First of all, like I said before. I don't hate Max."

"Have a funny way of showing your love," said my brother.

Ignoring this, I continued, "Second of all, there are some things I don't like about her when it comes to you."

"Like what?" asked Alec.

"Like how she thinks you're irresponsible when Logan's around," I began. "Like how she drops things into your lap that she should be doing just because Logan tells her to. Maybe with this break-up, she'll get a spine, I don't know. Either way, you've given her your heart and she can break it and I don't like that. At all."

"Bobbie"

"Let me finish," I said. "You can tell me all you like about how I'm being Miss Overprotective when it comes to you and Max, but there's a reason for it. Until I see with my own eyes that Max cares for you the way you should be cared for, I'm not going to trust her."

"Bobbie, I love her."

"I know you do."

Alec heaved a sigh and I let go of his face. My eyes absently took in my brother's profile and noticed a reddish mark on his right cheek.

"Alec," I began, "What's that on your cheek?" My brother looked at me, startled.

"What?"

"That," I pointed to the reddish mark. "What is it?"

My brother stood up from my bed and walked over to the mirror. Pressing his hands on my dresser, he turned his cheek to look at the mark. Once he saw it, he flushed deeply. Snatching several tissues from the Kleenex box on the dresser, Alec wiped the red mark off his face.

"It's nothing, Bob," said my brother, his voice cracking slightly. I leaned back in bed, arms crossed.

"Alec, that doesn't look like a nothing."

"Well, it's nothing," said my brother. "It's just a mark."

"Looks like lipstick," I said. "If I didn't know better, it's Fire Engine Red. Possibly in the Maybelline line." Alec looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?" I asked. "I can know about cosmetics. What happened?"

"Nothing happened," said Alec. I smirked at that.

"Something happened."

"Nothing happened, Bob."

"Really?"

"Really." I love my brother dearly and back at Manticore, he could pass a lie detector test ninety-nine percent of the time. Davenport used to crow over my brother's achievement to Colonel Lydecker every time the dear colonel came back from his failed escapee hunts. Needless to say, looking at my brother now, Davenport would not be happy.

"Alec," I said, "Don't lie to me. I hate it when you lie to me and believe me, right now, you're doing a piss-poor job of it." Alec bent his head down as he sank into the folds of my bed. I crawled next to him until I lay flat on my stomach, my wrists propping up my chin.

"Max kissed me," said my brother in a soft voice.

"She did," I said, keeping my voice neutral.

"Twice," Alec added. "One on the cheek and the other, you know."

"I see," I said. "Was this before you came over here?"

"Yeah," said Alec. "Just before I left the hospital, Max apologized for Logan's behavior and kissed me. I was pretty surprised."

"Was it nice?"

"It was," said my brother, his voice soft and dreamy now. "It was incredible. I felt-complete."

"Interesting, Jerry Maguire," I said. "How did she react?"

"Like she wanted to continue, but didn't know how."

I nodded again, struggling not to purse my lips. "She better not be playing with you."

"She's not."

"She better not be in heat, either."

"Bobbie!" Alec exclaimed, turning towards me in indignation. "I'd know if she was in heat. She didn't feel like it."

"I see," I said again. "Well, far be it from me to tell you how to feel after a first kiss."

"Thank you."

"What you and Max do is none of my business."

"Again, I say, thank you."

" I will support you in whatever you do with Max. "

Alec brightened at this. "Bobbie, you're really being great about this. You're taking it a lot better than I thought you would."

"I am," I said with a smile. "I am turning over a whole new leaf for today. I'm going to be civil to Max and I'm going to like it. It's the least I can do. For you." My brother's eyes shone with happiness as he gave me a big hug.

"Bobbie, thank you," he breathed. "You won't regret this."

"I know I won't!" I said with a fake smile.

"Bobbie, I know that's fake," said my brother pointing at my smile. I let it fall off my face and scowled.

"Fine," I said. "I promise I'll be real."

"That's my big sister." Suddenly, the phone next to the alarm clock rang and Alec and I looked at in surprise.

"Who could be calling?" I asked, reaching over to pick it up. My brother shrugged as I answered it.

"Bobbie?" My heart sank into my stomach.

"Peter?" I whispered. "What are you doing?"

"I had to call you," he said. I could hear his voice was slurred.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, pressing the phone closer to my ear.

"What if I am?" my ex-boyfriend asked, giving a little laugh. "You broke up with me over the phone. I know you're lying to me. You've been doing it since we started dating."

"Peter, is anybody with you?"

"Nobody, but me and the early morning crowd."

"Well, where are you?"

"In Washington," said my ex-boyfriend. "Home of the capitol, free, and the brave."

"Peter, give somebody else the phone," I ordered.

"Why should I?" he asked. "You ain't my wife. Even if you were, I know you ain't goin' to be at home, lookin' over our beautiful babies."

"With barcodes on their necks," Alec whispered. Covering the receiver with one hand, I reached out to slap my brother on the shoulder.

"Be quiet!" I hissed.

"What's this?" Peter asked. "Bobbie's talking to somebody, people!"

"I'm not talking to anybody," I said.

At that, Peter burst into hysterical laughter. "Hear that, guys? That's my girl lying. Don't know why or what for, but sure as I'm born, she's lying to me."

"Peter, are you on speaker-phone?"

"What if I am?"

"You have to turn it off. It's not right."

"What's not right?" he asked. "It's perfect! Now, everybody can see how a real person lies like a politician."

Stung, I snapped, "That's low, Peter."

"No different from you hiding out on me, girl," Peter's voice had now taken a dark turn. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he continued, "So, who's with you? The white boy? Wait, don't tell me, he's delivering the Christian Scientist Monitor this week, right?"

"I'm not cheating on you," I said in an even voice.

"Could have fooled me, girl," said my ex-boyfriend. "You know, when my Mama said you were steppin' out on me, I defended you. Said you were loyal, faithful, but now? I don't know. You're hiding something from me. Something you don't want me know."

"Peter, let's talk about this later."

"Hear that fellas?" Cheers sounded in the background. "She wants to talk about this later. Well, goddamn it, girl, let's talk about this now!" I could hear something crash next to the phone.

"Peter?"

"Still here, girl," he said. "Didn't do me much good, but I'm still here. Hey! You, with my girl? Who the hell are you?" Alec and I exchanged glances. My brother shrugged as Peter continued, "You with her in her room? Yeah, you, you son of a bitch! You stole the most precious woman I ever met. You don't deserve her. She's beautiful, man. Perfect. She keeps telling me it's in the genes, but I say she's probably got her mama's eyes and her daddy's chin. She says she's an orphan, but I say it don't matter. I love her anyway."

I could hear Peter swallow hard and belch. "You know she loves to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, right? Likes curling up on a Saturday night and watch Season 2 Buffy in her fluffy bunny slippers and her hair wrapped up like a queen. If you tickle her just right, she gives the prettiest laugh. Like bells ringing. When she gets mad, damn! She's got a right hook that'll kill a fella."

"Peter," I began.

"She's kind, sweet, got a temper, but that's all right. She's my girl. I love her. I want to marry her. Still do." Peter sniffled loudly. "So, Bobbie, you still there?"

"I am."

"This break-up thing? We're still apart, girl. Don't like it, but that's the way it is. Keep the ring. I ain't ready to take it back yet."

"I will," I said, in a soft voice.

"You do that," said Peter. "And, white boy? I know you still there, so I got a couple of things to say to you. First of all, you respect my girl. She's a lady. Secondly, you hurt her, and I'll kick your ass." With that Peter hung up. Alec and I stared at the phone in my hand.

"Wow," said Alec. "Guy still loves you."

"Yeah, he does," I said, setting the phone back in the headset.

"Alec! Bobbie!" Bree called out, as we listened to her open the front door. "I'm back!"

"Welcome back, Bree," we greeted from my bedroom. I heard Bree open and close the cupboards and within minutes, I smelled bacon frying. Alec and I stared at each other for a moment.

"I need to take a shower," I said. "Get the shakes out of me."

"You do that," said Alec.

"I will," I said as my brother left my bedroom to go into the kitchen. I looked back at the phone and started to reach out for it, but stopped in mid-air.

"What the hell?" I asked myself as I reached out for the phone again and called the information number in Washington. After several minutes of pinning down Peter's hotel room and phone number, the operator asked if I wanted to leave a message. The smell of scrambled eggs hit my nostrils as I paused to take a moment to think of what to say.

"Miss?" the operator prompted. "Do you want to leave a message?"

"Yes, I do," I said.

"What is it?"

"Tell Peter Gardener to call me tonight."

"All right. Anything else?"

"Yes," I began, looking in the direction of my kitchen. "Tell him: The Truth, love Bobbie."

"That's it?"

"That's it," I said and then hung up.