Logan was pacing his living room when Alec kicked the door open.
"What the hell?" Logan yelled then stopped in his tracks when he saw Max's pale, limp form in his arms. His eyes immediately teared up and his whole body grew heavy. "No."
"Get some blankets." Alec barked as he shoved past Logan and placed Max on the sofa.
"What happened?" Logan called as he retrieved the blankets from the closet. He moved behind Alec and looked down at Mex. The dark blood covering her face made her appear even paler than she was. Her lips were blue and she was starting to shake. He tapped Alec on the shoulder, "Here, she's shivering."
Hypothermia had set in before Alec had found her. There was no heat in the car and no matter how fast they can heal the elevator ride wasn't long enough for her body temperature to increase enough to begin shivering.
"Shit!" Alec shouted as it dawned on him what was going on. "She's seizing!"
"What? How can you tell?"
"Once your body temperature drops so far you stop shivering. Max past that point a long time ago, it doesn't matter, just trust me." Alec sounded frustrated. "She probably seized while she was on her way back, I bet that's why she wrecked."
Logan jumped up and ran back to the bathroom and emptied the medicine cabinet. It wasn't there. Shit Logan thought where the hell did I put it? He ran into his bedroom and ransacked his drawers.
"What the hell are you doing?" Alec shouted, he was having a hard time holding Max still.
Logan finally emerged from his room with a syringe and a small glass bottle of liquid. He fumbled with the needle as he pulled the clear liquid up into it.
"What do you think your doing?" Alec looked skeptically at Logan.
"It's liquid Tryptophen. I got it the last time she had a really bad seizure, I thought it might come in handy. It's a little more then double the strength of the pills, plus it will work faster since it is injected."
Alec snatched the needle from the older man and in one swift movement he injected Max through the shredded part of her jacket sleeve.
"You ass!" Logan yelled at Alec.
"Back off. She's a solider, she can handle it." Alec felt her begin to calm down, he relaxed his grip and when he was sure she would be alright he jumped up and got in Logan's face. "You're not the only one that care's about her."
Logan watched as Alec stormed off to the kitchen before retreating to his office. Picking up the phone he began to dial the now all too familiar number of Dr. Carr. Before he got half way through dialing Alec snatched the phone from his hands.
"What are you doing?" Alec looked confused.
"She needs a doctor." Logan was tired of justifying himself to Alec. "I'm calling Dr. Carr, he's taken care of her before, we trust him."
"I can take care of her."
"I don't care how much field medical training you've had. This is beyond your knowledge. She's got head trauma for God's sake!"
"What is your doctor going to do?" Alec said with is usual 'I know everything' attitude. "He can't take her to a hospital, all he can do is remove the bullet, stitch her up, and dress her wounds. All of which I can do. Save your money."
"If you hurt her." Logan followed Alec into the kitchen.
"Here," Alec pulled the gun from his waistband and shoved it in Logan's hand. He stared the older man down, his eyes full of anger. "Are you really so blind to think that I would hurt her? Get over yourself! She's a solider, she doesn't need to be treated with kid gloves! Granted what I've got to do is going to hurt like hell but she can deal with it."
"She's not a solider anymore!" Logan shouted when Alec turned his back on him.
"No!" Alec spun around and got right in Logan's face. "No matter how hard she tries she will always be a solider. Some little part of her, deep inside can't let go. Manticore made sure of it. They've built it into our DNA!" Alec took a deep breath, calming himself before he continued. "Call your doctor if you want but she's bleeding for the shoulder again. I'm going to remove the bullet and stitch her up. If there's anything to do when he gets her I'll gladly let him do it."
Logan lingered in the hall until he heard the metallic clank of the bullet as it fell into the glass bowl. He waited a bit longer, not wanting to see Alec dig around Max's shoulder. Finally he walked into his weight room where Alec had Max on the table he often sat on when he worked out.
"When's your friend going to get here?" Alec didn't take his eyes from his stitch work.
"He said he really couldn't do much." Logan grimaced as Alec pulled on the stitches. "You were right."
"Bet that hurt."
"You have no idea."
"Look Logan. I'm sorry I jumped on your case earlier."
"Don't be." Logan removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "How's she doing?"
"Could be better. The bullet didn't hit anything important, believe it or not the head wound was more superficial than anything else."
"But there was so much blood." Logan wrinkled his forehead.
"Here look." Alec lifted Max's hair to expose a fifteen inch, neatly stitched, cut starting above her left eyebrow and extending straight back her head. "There's a lot of blood vessels in the scalp that's why it bleed so much. The road rash is bad. We're going to have to put her in the shower to get it cleaned up."
"I know you can handle her wrath but I'm a mere mortal." Logan held up his hands in defense.
"I won't let her kill you." Alec flashed a cocky grin before he face took on more serious features. "I'm really going to need your help. Her left hand's frost bitten, warm water will make it worse."
"What are you going to do for that?" Logan asked.
"One thing at a time." Alec peeled the final layer of clothing off Max. He saw Logan stiffen but wasn't sure if it was because she was naked or because of how battered and bruised she was. Alec was so concerned about her welfare that he wouldn't have noticed if she had a third nipple.
Alec picked her up with ease while Logan ran ahead to start the water. Alec placed her in the tub and while Logan supported her and kept her hand from under the spray Alec quickly washed the dirt and gravel from the deep scrapes. Finally the two men applied an antiseptic ointment and clean bandages before dressing her in a pair of Logan's sweats and a tee shirt.
"What about her hand?" Logan whispered as Alec placed her on the guest bed.
"I'm not doing anything for the hand, it will heal itself once she gets some more blood."
"More blood? What are you talking about?"
"There's been too much damage done, along with too much blood lost. Her body's not able to heal all the damage."
"Why didn't you say so sooner! I could have given her blood while you were fixing her up!"
"Your blood won't cut it." Alec didn't look at the other man as he prepared Max and himself for the blood transfusion. "If she's going to pull through this she needs X series blood. If I had given it to her earlier then I wouldn't have been able to fix her up. She's lost a lot of blood, I won't be good for anything after the transfusion."
"Oh." Logan found himself at a loss for words.
"I'm going to need you to shut this thing off. Say in an hour?" Alec directed casually as he inserted the butterfly needle into Max's arm then the other into his. He then hooked the tubing to his IV port and waited until the dark red blood reached the other side before connecting it to Max. The last thing he need was to kill her with an air bubble. He looked at her, checking for any signs something was wrong. She was so pale. Logan had no idea how bad she really was. It still could be too late, he should have moved faster, been more efficient. But he would have to worry later, if there is a need. Now he was ready to pass out himself. He pulled a blanket up over Max before lying down next to her.
"Don't forget to unhook us. If you do you'll kill us both."
Logan sighed deeply and turned out the light. He saw something in Alec that he suspected no one else had seen. Concern, genuine concern, not to mention love. That's what scared him. Shutting the door he looked at the clock, three am. Sitting at his computer he set it to an alarm would sound at four before going to work on how such misinformation could get past him.
The phone rang startling Logan from his work, "Yeah."
"Logan?"
"Yes."
"Have you seen Max? Boo said she'd meet Original Cindy at Crash hours ago." Original Cindy sounded a little drunk and very concerned.
"Um, she's in the other room." Logan didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.
"I knew you were like that." Original Cindy slurred.
"Cindy we were never.." Logan stopped mid sentence when the computer started beeping, "I need to go."
"What? Why?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow."
"You'll tell Original Cindy now or."
"Fine. If I don't stop the blood transfusion someone could die." Logan regretted saying it the moment he finished, "Shit, Cindy everyone is fine. Max will call you in the morning."
Logan hung up before O.C. could process the information. Opening the door and flipping on the light he half expected to see Max sitting up in the bed. She wasn't but her color was much better, Alec was out cold. He quickly disconnected the two then covered Alec. Part of him was jealous as he backed out of the room. Even thought the situation was serious Alec was doing something he might never be able to do, get close to Max.
"What the hell?" Logan yelled then stopped in his tracks when he saw Max's pale, limp form in his arms. His eyes immediately teared up and his whole body grew heavy. "No."
"Get some blankets." Alec barked as he shoved past Logan and placed Max on the sofa.
"What happened?" Logan called as he retrieved the blankets from the closet. He moved behind Alec and looked down at Mex. The dark blood covering her face made her appear even paler than she was. Her lips were blue and she was starting to shake. He tapped Alec on the shoulder, "Here, she's shivering."
Hypothermia had set in before Alec had found her. There was no heat in the car and no matter how fast they can heal the elevator ride wasn't long enough for her body temperature to increase enough to begin shivering.
"Shit!" Alec shouted as it dawned on him what was going on. "She's seizing!"
"What? How can you tell?"
"Once your body temperature drops so far you stop shivering. Max past that point a long time ago, it doesn't matter, just trust me." Alec sounded frustrated. "She probably seized while she was on her way back, I bet that's why she wrecked."
Logan jumped up and ran back to the bathroom and emptied the medicine cabinet. It wasn't there. Shit Logan thought where the hell did I put it? He ran into his bedroom and ransacked his drawers.
"What the hell are you doing?" Alec shouted, he was having a hard time holding Max still.
Logan finally emerged from his room with a syringe and a small glass bottle of liquid. He fumbled with the needle as he pulled the clear liquid up into it.
"What do you think your doing?" Alec looked skeptically at Logan.
"It's liquid Tryptophen. I got it the last time she had a really bad seizure, I thought it might come in handy. It's a little more then double the strength of the pills, plus it will work faster since it is injected."
Alec snatched the needle from the older man and in one swift movement he injected Max through the shredded part of her jacket sleeve.
"You ass!" Logan yelled at Alec.
"Back off. She's a solider, she can handle it." Alec felt her begin to calm down, he relaxed his grip and when he was sure she would be alright he jumped up and got in Logan's face. "You're not the only one that care's about her."
Logan watched as Alec stormed off to the kitchen before retreating to his office. Picking up the phone he began to dial the now all too familiar number of Dr. Carr. Before he got half way through dialing Alec snatched the phone from his hands.
"What are you doing?" Alec looked confused.
"She needs a doctor." Logan was tired of justifying himself to Alec. "I'm calling Dr. Carr, he's taken care of her before, we trust him."
"I can take care of her."
"I don't care how much field medical training you've had. This is beyond your knowledge. She's got head trauma for God's sake!"
"What is your doctor going to do?" Alec said with is usual 'I know everything' attitude. "He can't take her to a hospital, all he can do is remove the bullet, stitch her up, and dress her wounds. All of which I can do. Save your money."
"If you hurt her." Logan followed Alec into the kitchen.
"Here," Alec pulled the gun from his waistband and shoved it in Logan's hand. He stared the older man down, his eyes full of anger. "Are you really so blind to think that I would hurt her? Get over yourself! She's a solider, she doesn't need to be treated with kid gloves! Granted what I've got to do is going to hurt like hell but she can deal with it."
"She's not a solider anymore!" Logan shouted when Alec turned his back on him.
"No!" Alec spun around and got right in Logan's face. "No matter how hard she tries she will always be a solider. Some little part of her, deep inside can't let go. Manticore made sure of it. They've built it into our DNA!" Alec took a deep breath, calming himself before he continued. "Call your doctor if you want but she's bleeding for the shoulder again. I'm going to remove the bullet and stitch her up. If there's anything to do when he gets her I'll gladly let him do it."
Logan lingered in the hall until he heard the metallic clank of the bullet as it fell into the glass bowl. He waited a bit longer, not wanting to see Alec dig around Max's shoulder. Finally he walked into his weight room where Alec had Max on the table he often sat on when he worked out.
"When's your friend going to get here?" Alec didn't take his eyes from his stitch work.
"He said he really couldn't do much." Logan grimaced as Alec pulled on the stitches. "You were right."
"Bet that hurt."
"You have no idea."
"Look Logan. I'm sorry I jumped on your case earlier."
"Don't be." Logan removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "How's she doing?"
"Could be better. The bullet didn't hit anything important, believe it or not the head wound was more superficial than anything else."
"But there was so much blood." Logan wrinkled his forehead.
"Here look." Alec lifted Max's hair to expose a fifteen inch, neatly stitched, cut starting above her left eyebrow and extending straight back her head. "There's a lot of blood vessels in the scalp that's why it bleed so much. The road rash is bad. We're going to have to put her in the shower to get it cleaned up."
"I know you can handle her wrath but I'm a mere mortal." Logan held up his hands in defense.
"I won't let her kill you." Alec flashed a cocky grin before he face took on more serious features. "I'm really going to need your help. Her left hand's frost bitten, warm water will make it worse."
"What are you going to do for that?" Logan asked.
"One thing at a time." Alec peeled the final layer of clothing off Max. He saw Logan stiffen but wasn't sure if it was because she was naked or because of how battered and bruised she was. Alec was so concerned about her welfare that he wouldn't have noticed if she had a third nipple.
Alec picked her up with ease while Logan ran ahead to start the water. Alec placed her in the tub and while Logan supported her and kept her hand from under the spray Alec quickly washed the dirt and gravel from the deep scrapes. Finally the two men applied an antiseptic ointment and clean bandages before dressing her in a pair of Logan's sweats and a tee shirt.
"What about her hand?" Logan whispered as Alec placed her on the guest bed.
"I'm not doing anything for the hand, it will heal itself once she gets some more blood."
"More blood? What are you talking about?"
"There's been too much damage done, along with too much blood lost. Her body's not able to heal all the damage."
"Why didn't you say so sooner! I could have given her blood while you were fixing her up!"
"Your blood won't cut it." Alec didn't look at the other man as he prepared Max and himself for the blood transfusion. "If she's going to pull through this she needs X series blood. If I had given it to her earlier then I wouldn't have been able to fix her up. She's lost a lot of blood, I won't be good for anything after the transfusion."
"Oh." Logan found himself at a loss for words.
"I'm going to need you to shut this thing off. Say in an hour?" Alec directed casually as he inserted the butterfly needle into Max's arm then the other into his. He then hooked the tubing to his IV port and waited until the dark red blood reached the other side before connecting it to Max. The last thing he need was to kill her with an air bubble. He looked at her, checking for any signs something was wrong. She was so pale. Logan had no idea how bad she really was. It still could be too late, he should have moved faster, been more efficient. But he would have to worry later, if there is a need. Now he was ready to pass out himself. He pulled a blanket up over Max before lying down next to her.
"Don't forget to unhook us. If you do you'll kill us both."
Logan sighed deeply and turned out the light. He saw something in Alec that he suspected no one else had seen. Concern, genuine concern, not to mention love. That's what scared him. Shutting the door he looked at the clock, three am. Sitting at his computer he set it to an alarm would sound at four before going to work on how such misinformation could get past him.
The phone rang startling Logan from his work, "Yeah."
"Logan?"
"Yes."
"Have you seen Max? Boo said she'd meet Original Cindy at Crash hours ago." Original Cindy sounded a little drunk and very concerned.
"Um, she's in the other room." Logan didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.
"I knew you were like that." Original Cindy slurred.
"Cindy we were never.." Logan stopped mid sentence when the computer started beeping, "I need to go."
"What? Why?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow."
"You'll tell Original Cindy now or."
"Fine. If I don't stop the blood transfusion someone could die." Logan regretted saying it the moment he finished, "Shit, Cindy everyone is fine. Max will call you in the morning."
Logan hung up before O.C. could process the information. Opening the door and flipping on the light he half expected to see Max sitting up in the bed. She wasn't but her color was much better, Alec was out cold. He quickly disconnected the two then covered Alec. Part of him was jealous as he backed out of the room. Even thought the situation was serious Alec was doing something he might never be able to do, get close to Max.