Title: Secrets, Lies and Betrayals

Rating: PG, for now, DOES contain a few swear words

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Dark Angel, Cameron & Eglee, etc. I own nothing and I'm gaining only valuable writing experience.

Summary: Logan has a secret, which ultimately puts both Max and Alec in danger. M/A

A/N: Sorry for the delay. A lot of stuff has been happening that is beyond my control. I've missed this story though, so I'm glad to get back into it. Hope everyone likes it.

Chapter 7:  Jumping to Conclusions

Alec struggled to regain consciousness. He had started to feel, hear and sense things around him but he just couldn't seem to open his eyes. They were too heavy. He could hear the hushed voices of people but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. He then sensed someone close to him on his bed. He knew that smell. It was Max. Max was all right and she wasn't mad at him. Or at least she was waiting until he woke up before yelling at him for getting caught on the simple mission she had recommended to Logan he go on. Alec was mentally scolding himself.  Why didn't he do some more recon, or better recon? And why hadn't he gotten back up? Well the last question was simple to answer.

The only person Alec trusted with his life was Max and she was too busy to go on the mission. Alec was ashamed that he had failed her yet again. He was interrupted by something splattering on his face and chest. It was water, salt water. It was tears, Max's tears. 'Why is she crying?' Alec thought to himself. He was thoroughly confused and needed to know what happened to make Max cry. He hated to see her cry but lying here unable to move or open his eyes, listening and feeling her cry was far, far worse for Alec. He needed to hold her, comfort her, and console her. He needed to make everything better. He needed to make her laugh. He desperately wanted to right all the bad things that were wrong in Max's life. He desperately wanted and needed to tell her that he loved her.

But he simply couldn't do any of those things, especially tell her he loved her. It just wasn't his place. Max didn't want his affections, friendly or otherwise and she made that perfectly clear on a day-to-day basis. Alec knew he loved her but feared telling her for the rejection. If Max didn't reciprocate his feeling, and he knew she wouldn't, then Alec would simply die. Not physically but emotionally. He would cease to have a heart. All that would be left would be an empty shell.

Alec had felt this way once before. But he knew now that Rachel was not the 'one' as he had thought that she was at the time. If she truly were then Alec would surely never be able to have feelings for Max or anyone else ever. But the fact was the Max had made him feel again, made him love again and it was more powerful than he had ever imagined or encountered with Rachel. Max made him feel alive and like his life was worth living for the first time in his long existence. He needed her approval, her kind words, and her smile. He lived off of it and grew from it making him a better person. She made him the person that he was and he had tried everyday to try and repay her for that in his own way. Alec had never been so dependent on anyone ever before. He simply couldn't live without Max.  He knew it and it scared the hell out of him.

Alec felt when Max left his bed. She left in a hurry and he could sense the fear and confusing emanating off of her. This only proceeded to confused Alec even further. What had happened? He needed to know and in order to find out he needed to wake up. Alec felt remarkably better considering what he had been through, yet he still decided to rest for a while longer before attempting to get up.

Several hours had passed, or so Alec thought as he woke from his sleep. He was feeling better before but now he was close to feeling great, under the circumstances. Alec tried to open his eyes but they were still to heavy. He then remembered how he had fought against the unconsciousness when White was holding him captive. Max. She was the answer to all his prayers. Just thinking of her gave him the strength and incentive he needed and Alec not only opened his eyes, but sat up in his bed as well.

Salt immediately came running over to Alec upon seeing his movements.

"How are you feeling Alec?" she asked, the concern evident in her voice and eyes.

"Max?" Alec responded.

Salt couldn't help but smile at the young man in front of her. After everything he had been through, being tortured endlessly and being unconscious for over 24 hours, the first thing Alec asked about was Max and not himself. It was so clear that he was in love with her.

"She's fine" Salt said reassuringly, deciding to skip the part about her bullet wound for now.

Alec let out an audible sigh of relief and smiled back at Salt.

"I need to see her," Alec said, as he threw back the covers and slipped out of his bed and onto the cold hard floor.

"But you need to rest" Salt protested, trying to usher Alec back into his bed.

Alec was testing his leg with the bullet wound to see if he could stand on it. After several successful attempts of standing rather gingerly and not falling over, Alec concluded that his leg was good enough.

"I need to see her," Alec repeated simply to Salt whilst shrugging his shoulders. She immediately understood.

"Fine" Salt said throwing her hands up in the air and began to walk away muttering, "You can't help those who won't help themselves"

Alec let out a short laugh and left the infirmary in search of Max.

*

Max drove wildly through the streets of Seattle as she raced back to Terminal City to once again be by Alec's bedside. She was getting more and more worried as each minute passed that he was still not awake and reacting. She desperately needed him to be ok. Max was racked with feelings of guilt for what had happened to Alec and the reason he had been sent on the mission in the first place, remorse for how she had treated him in the past and, most of all, worry. She was highly concerned for his well-being. Max found another feeling surfacing that she simply couldn't ignore anymore. Love.

She was in love with Alec and had been for some time. But through her stubbornness and pride she had not let these feelings be entertained or expressed and now she feared that Alec would die without knowing how she really felt about him. Once Max had realised that she was in love with Alec she desperately needed to tell him. It made the torment of watching him lying unconscious on a bed right in front of her all the more difficult to bear.

Max raced into the infirmary hoping to see Alec awake and sitting up in bed cracking onto the nurses, cracking jokes, just hoping to see something, anything. Bursting through the doors, Max ran smack bang into the rather large frame of an all black transgenic. She recognized him as being Pepper, the doctor who she had met briefly earlier.

"Where's Alec?" she asked breathlessly

"Gone," replied Pepper simply in a booming and not at all sympathetic voice.

"Gone?" Max stuttered out already knowing what that meant but her mind was frozen in shock and was screaming for confirmation.

"Yeah, gone," Pepper said with a quizzical look on his face, "sorry" he added as an after thought, believing that might help the transgenic in front of him comprehend the situation and leave his facility.

Max tried to steady herself as she could feel herself falling. Alec was gone. Alec was dead. This can't be. She had just come to the conclusion that she was in love with him and was going to tell him. He can't be dead. Max stumbled over to the bed where Alec had been. She sank down into it and began to sob. She could smell him on the sheets and pillow which only caused her to cry even more. The sobs grew more frantic and violent as the full weight of the situation dawned on Max. The one she truly loved was dead and he had died trying to get the cure for her so she could be with another man. Max knew her life was pretty fucked up and complicated but that just took the cake. The thing that disturbed, worried and hurt Max the most was that Alec died never knowing that she loved him. In fact he probably thought she hated him. It was more than she could handle.

Something had to be done. She couldn't let this go. Someone was going to pay. She could kill Logan but that would be far too easy. Then it hit her. White. He was the one who had down all the damage. She assumed he was the one who had set up Logan and she knew he was who had tortured Alec. Max decided then and there that she was going to kill White in order to get some revenge for her murdered friend and the one she loved.

Max jumped up off the bed and ran out of the infirmary as fast as she could. There was no time to waste. She needed to do this now, for herself just as much for Alec. On the way out Max barely noticed Salt entering the infirmary. Salt, on the other hand, had taken in the sight of Max, tears streaming down her face with a determined look on her face with great interest and concern. She decided to question her colleague about it.

"Where was Max going in such a hurry?" Salt asked Pepper who was now busying himself with some faulty equipment in the corner. 

"How should I know?" he answered gruffly.

"Well did you talk to her?" Salt asked, rapidly getting impatient with the other transgenic.

"Yeah" was all Pepper decided to say.

Salt stood over the crouching male with her hands on her hips and a questioning look on her face. Pepper stared up at her and couldn't quite figure out what all the fuss was about.

"What?" He boomed, getting impatient himself.

Salt threw her hands up in the air, "What did she want and what did you say to her?"

"She wanted Alec and I told her he was gone" Pepper replied, once again going back to the equipment.

The wheels in Salt's mind began to turn rapidly and she knew exactly what had happened. All she needed now was confirmation.

"Did you say it exactly like that?"

"Yeah," pepper said, before adding, "I said sorry as well."

Salt was fast getting annoyed.

"I suppose you let her see the empty bed as well?" she asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Pepper replied, obviously confused

"You Idiot!" Salt yelled.

Pepper was slightly taken aback by the nerve of the younger and smaller transgenic. He stood so that he towered over her and calmly asked,

"Excuse me?"

"Max thinks Alec is dead" Salt replied, still yelling slightly despite the towering and intimidating figure looming over her.

"What? Why?" Pepper asked, as he became even more confused.

"Forget it" Salt said leaving the bewildered male to figure things out for himself, as he no doubt wouldn't. "Your bedside manner sucks" she stated plainly before slipping out of the building.

"Women" Pepper muttered under his breath as he turned his attention back to the equipment that needing fixing.

Salt quickly made her way towards H.Q. in an attempt to find out where Max would be headed. She had to find her and explain the situation before Max did anything drastic or stupid. From what Salt had heard about Max that was highly likely.

*

Max had to admit that it wasn't a well thought out plan at all. In fact it wasn't really a plan of any sort. But she was on a mission and she didn't care how, when, where, etc she was going to kill White. She was going to make him suffer the same amount of pain that she was in at that moment and that Alec had endured before he died. 

Just thinking about Alec made Max's heart ache. She didn't even get to see him. She didn't even get to say goodbye. The tears streamed down Max's face as she raced towards the facility where White had held Alec captive. No doubt White was coming up with a new plan to capture and kill transgenics and her in particular.

Surely he couldn't have known that Alec was the one person that Max loved and that taking him away from her would hurt her more than she ever thought possible. Max really didn't want to think about it. What did it matter if White knew? What was done was done and now he had to suffer the consequences.

Max had considered killing someone that White loved, as a sort of eye for an eye type of deal. But that was quickly dismissed as Max concluded that White was incapable of loving anyone and if he did then, being the cold-blooded killer that he was, he'd probably killed them himself already anyway. Besides Max was thoroughly looking forward to torturing and killing the man who had caused her so much pain over the years. Max had been pushed too far this time. Killing Alec was the final straw for her. It was time for White to pay the ultimate price with his life.