Part 11: Waiting

"Has anything changed?" Max asked anxiously of Logan as soon as she walked in the room. She looked over at Angela who was curled up on the couch, staring blindly out the window, with a lost look on her face.

Logan shook his head sadly. "She hasn't moved in three hours. Did you find anything?" He went back to his computer room. For the past six months they had been trying to find any trace of Alec. A week after they escaped, Zack and Max went back to Manticore for Alec. They were able to get in and out easily; the whole base was still shaky after the explosion, and at this time, no one was looking for the missing X5's. But Alec wasn't anywhere to be found. They didn't have him locked up anywhere and he left no trail when he took off.

"Nothing," Max said flopping into one of the chairs in the room. "I'm running out of places to look, Logan. Zack called, there's no trace of him in Canada, the others are looking all over the country, and we can't find him anywhere."

"But you can't look everywhere," Logan reminded her. "You're all still laying low so you can't stretch your resources that far. But I've been looking where you can't, and I still can't find him." He looked over at Angela sadly and said quietly to Max. "I think we have to accept the worst."

Max stood up angrily. "Don't say that Logan, he's not dead. He's probably just gone into hibernation or something. He'll show up sooner or later. He has to," she said desperately. "Angela's wasting away. She won't eat or sleep, and I don't know how much longer her body will take it."

"I think we should sedate her," Logan recommended. "That way her body will get some rest. We can pump an IV into her while she's asleep."

Max shook her head. "Angela hates needles, she'd freak out if she woke up with one in her arm. It's not a good idea."

"We can take the needle out before she wakes up. Max," Logan said when she was about to protest. "She'll die if we don't do this."

Max nodded sadly and went over to Angela sitting down next to her on the couch. "Hey girl, how are you?"

Angela shrugged, not taking her gaze from the window. It was like she was expecting to see Alec walking around outside. "Have you found anything?" She asked lifelessly.

Max shook her head. "No, but we're still looking, Logan has some contacts who are looking into some leads. We'll find him Angela, I promise. Look, why don't you get some rest, I'll wake you up if we find anything." She kept her gaze on Angela as Logan creeped up behind her to inject her with a sedative.

"I'm not tired," Angela, said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. She gasped as Logan put the needle in her neck. Her hand flew to where the needle entered her skin and looked accusingly at Max. "Why did you do that?"

"You need to rest," Max told her catching her before she fell to the ground. Together her and Logan carried Angela to the guest room where Logan set up an IV for her. "How long will the sedative last?"

"I couldn't give her much because she was so weak, but it should last at least five hours because of her condition. We should be able to get two of these bags into her." He indicated to the IV he was setting up.

"Good," Max said. "She needs to sleep. I'm going to call Zack, see if he's got anything." She gave Angela's still form one last look before leaving the room. She went back into Logan's office, picking up the phone she dialled the contact number Zack had given her. It only took two rings before Zack picked up.

"Max," he said knowing who it was.

"Yeah," she answered. "Do you have anything for us?" She asked hopefully.

"No, he hasn't come to Canada. I don't know where he could have gone. How's Angela?" He asked carefully.

Max laughed humourlessly. "She's dying. If we don't find Alec soon, we're going to loose her. We need to find him, I can't loose her Zack."

"I know," Zack said soothingly. "Have you gotten Logan to send out an Eyes Only broadcast? It might help find him."

"We can," Max told him. "Manticore would know we're looking for him. We can't risk him coming out in the open just to be caught again."

"Then tell him to meet you in a place that only he and Angela knew about. Manticore wouldn't know where they met would they?" Zack suggested.

Max's eyes lit up. "Zack, you're a genius! I'll got tell Logan. Thankyou so much." She made kissing noises at the phone before hanging up; she could hear his laughter in the background. She ran back into Angela's room. "Logan, Zack just gave me the best idea. Come into the computer room." She said more quietly.

"What is it?" Logan asked warily.

"Send out an Eyes Only broadcast to Alec," Max started.

"Max, we already agreed that would be a bad idea, Manticore would come running." Logan reminded her.

"But if we tell him to meet us in a place that Manticore doesn't know about, then no storm troopers are going to come and get us." Max said gleefully. This had to be the best plan Zack had ever come up with.

Logan reluctantly agreed. "But where are we going to get him to meet us. It has to be isolated, we can't have anyone knowing about it."

Max thought for a moment. "The cabin! The cabin where he wanted Angela to meet him when he was going to take her to Canada. He told us that Manticore didn't know about it, that he didn't have any orders to take her back to Manticore. It's the perfect place."

Logan nodded. "I'll get started then, you should go sit with Angela, in case she wakes up." Logan said moving to get ready.

"Why?" Max asked, "You just gave her the sedative, she should wake up for another five hours, you said so yourself."

"Yes I did, but Angela's been known to defy the impossible hasn't she?"

Max smiled. "I guess she has. You do your thing, I'll stay with her." Max said moving off to Angela's room. Her best friend was lying on the bed looking as if she were dead; it was only the slow rise and fall of her chest that suggested otherwise. "We'll find him Angela," Max promised, taking her hand.

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

It wasn't until three agonising hours later that Logan was finished and came back into the room. In that time both of Angela's IV's had finished so when she woke up there would be no sign that a needle had been in her skin.

"How did it go?" Max asked.

"The message is out." Logan told her. "I just hope he gets it, and gets to the cabin safely. But we need to pack up and get there. He could be closer than we realise."

Max nodded. "I'll get some things together for Angela and we'll get going when she wakes up. You get some stuff for us. Angela will be able to tell us where the cabin is." Max got up from the bed and grabbing a bag from the closet she began throwing in things they would need, for a long or short period of time.

Angela woke up forty-five minutes later, proving that she never did what she was told. Even when she was sedated.

"How are you feeling?" Max asked softly.

Angela rubbed her forehead. "Angry. You know I hate needles."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but you needed to get some rest, and that was the only way we could think of." Max told her. "But come on, we're leaving."

"Where are we going?" Angela asked alarmed. If they left, Alec wouldn't be able to find her if he came looking. "We can't leave, if Alec-"

"Alec's coming to meet us," Max told her.

Angela's eyes widened happily. "You found him? Where is he?"

Max held up her hand. "We haven't found him exactly. Logan sent out a broadcast telling him to meet us at the cabin you were meant to meet at in the first place. When he was going to kidnap you off to snowy Canada."

Angela's eyes narrowed warily. "Wasn't that dangerous? What if Manticore finds us?"

"They won't. They didn't know about the cabin. It was a last minute thing of Alec's." Max smiled. "You don't have anything to worry about. Now come on, we need to go, and you need to tell us how to get to the cabin. You do remember don't you?" Max asked teasingly.

"Of course I do," Angela said jumping out of bed, ignoring the dizziness it caused. "Come on," she rushed them. "We need to go now!"

Logan and Max smiled happily. "This is the most energy she's had in months," Logan commented approvingly, watching her run around the apartment, gathering up whatever she though they would need.

"So lets go before she leaves without us." Max suggested.

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

It only took under two hours to get to the cabin, and throughout the Journey Angela couldn't sit still. She was like a child constantly asking the question 'are we there yet? Are we there yet?' it almost send Max and Logan crazy. But Angela was excited; she was going to get Alec back, so they couldn't hold her excitement against her.

Angela practically flew out of the car in her haste to get into the cabin. "Alec!" She called after she had thrown the door open. "Alec," she called again, the time uncertainly. He wasn't there. No one had entered this cabin in months. The dusk lay undisturbed and there was no water or electricity. She turned to Max and Logan who were just coming into the cabin now. "He's not here," she said sadly.

Max shook her head. "Of course he's not here. We only sent the message out a few hours ago. If he's halfway across the country it will take him longer than five hours to get here." She laughed quietly.

Angela grinned sheepishly. "I guess so. I'm just so anxious to see him."

Logan smiled tolerantly. "We know, you don't have to apologise to us. Now," he rubbed his hands together. "Let's get this place cleaned up. I'll turn the power on and you girls can take care of the inside." He couldn't get out of the house fast enough.

"Logan!" Max wined. "I can't believe he's leaving us to do all of this."

"I know," Angela agreed, "But I need to keep busy, time goes faster that way." So she started to get to work. First she dusted all the counter tops, then swept the floors, straightened up all the rooms and threw open the window to get rid of the musty odour.

"I've never seen you clean so fast in my entire life." Max told her in amazement.

Angela flopped down on the couch, exhausted and looked at her watch. "Only three hours!" She turned to Max. "How long do you think it will take Alec to get here?"

Max shrugged. "Logan's put the message on repeat just in case he missed it the first time, but assuming he got it, at least week, maybe longer."

"I can't wait that long!"

Max laughed. "Yes you can. If you love him, then you can wait for him."

Angela shrugged. "I guess you're right, again. I just need something to keep me busy until then."

Max smiled wickedly. "I brought a chessboard, if you're willing to take me on."

"Don't Angela, she's violent when it comes to that game." Logan warned her, finally coming into the house.

"Oh, so you finally decided to show up." Max chided him. "I didn't know it took that long to set up the power."

Logan nodded seriously. "Yeah, the wires were all tangled, it was hell, but I got through it and I'm a better man for it."

"Wires?" Angela asked innocently. "And here I always thought there was just one little switch to flip. But hey, I'm a girl, what would I know."

"I always thought that to," Max agreed with Angela. "But it looks like we were wrong." She gave Logan a death glare but he just smiled and went into the kitchen.

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

Max and Angela were sitting at the table playing the four hundred and twenty seventh game of chess since that had arrived at the cabin. The number was correct too, Angela was counting. So far it was seventy forty, Max's way, but Angela was making a comeback and it looked like she was going to win this game.

"How long has it been now?" Angela asked Logan thinking about her next move.

"Twelve days," Logan responded not looking up from the files he was reading. He was away from the city, but not going to deny his Eyes Only duties.

Angela looked up at Max, surprised. "Twelve days? You said it would only take him a week to get here."

Max could see Angela becoming distressed. "I said that was if he saw the first broadcast. If he wasn't near a television then it would take longer. We don't know where he is so we don't know how long it will take."

"Well I hope he gets here soon." Angela said, making her move. "Checkmate." She got up. "I'm going for a walk. See you soon." She left the room quietly, leaving Max to gape at the chessboard.

Logan looked up happily. "She beat you? Good on her."

Max glared at him. "Care to have a go Eyes Only. I can still whip your ass at this game. Your skills are nothing to what I was taught at Manticore." She laughed at him.

"I think I will," Logan said getting up and moving to the chessboard. "If Angela just beat you, you might still be vulnerable, I'm going to take advantage of that. Let's go."

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

Angela walked around the woods surrounding the cabins aimlessly. Twelve days. They had been here for twelve days and there was still no sign of Alec. I need him, she thought, I can't loose him again, I'll die if that happens.

The woods were silent, only the occasional bird chirping to disturb the peaceful silence. I shouldn't have left him at Manticore, Angela thought to herself. The more she had thought about it, the more she hated herself. She should have let the others get out, but she should have stayed with him. She didn't care if she had to live in that place, she would have been with him. But now there was nothing she could do to change that.

She looked up at the sky, the moon was full and beautiful in the night sky and the stars were easier to see further away from the city. But the beauty meant nothing to her, not when she couldn't share it with him.

Angela walked over to one of the large trees and slid down the surface to the ground, tears falling down her cheeks. The pain in her chest was so strong; it was like she was being ripped apart inside. Alec was her life. She had almost died after he left that first time. She didn't know how much longer she could take not being with him.

"Sleep," she whispered to herself. Time went by faster when you were asleep and it was already past midnight. She wiped the tears from her face and made her way back to the cabin. She smiled at Max and Logan who were absorbed in a game of chess. "I'm going to bed." She told them.

"Okay," Max said not looking up.

"Sweet dreams." Logan said in deep thought.

Angela shook her head and went to her room. She quickly got into her pyjamas and into the bed. It only took a matter of moments from when her head hit the pillow to when she was asleep.

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

Angela stirred slightly in her sleep but her movements were stopped by a hand pressed against her mouth. Her body stiffened. Manticore! Her mind screamed at her. She gathered her power to throw him across the room but his voice stopped her.

"Angel?" He asked quietly. "It's me Alec,"

Angela's eyes widened at both the endearment and the man who had said it. His hand moved from her mouth and she threw her arms around him, pulling him on top of her. "Alec!" She whispered. "Is it really you?"

His answer was only to kiss her softly. A kiss that went on for some time and got deeper and deeper. When he finally pulled away they were both breathing heavily. "What do you think?" He said, his voice husky.

She pulled back and slapped him on the arm.

"What was that for?" He asked in amazement, rubbing his arm.

"What took you so long? We sent that message two weeks ago."

"Twelve days okay," he told her softly. "I was halfway across the country when I saw it. I couldn't fly here at that moment. It takes time to travel across the country."

"Why didn't you wait at Manticore for us?" Angela asked, a bit hurt. "We were going to come and get you."

"I know," he rubbed her cheek softly. "But after you left the guards came to get me. They knew I let you go, I heard the talking earlier, talking about how to kill me. So I decided that it would be better for my health if I left."

"So why didn't you come to us?"

Alec shrugged. "I thought you were with Zack," he said the name harshly. "I didn't know you wanted me. I thought you just felt sorry for me."

Angela forced him to look at her. "I've never felt sorry for you. I love you, nothing could change that. Ever."

"Then why didn't you come with me the first time?" He asked softly.

Angela was the one to shrug this time. "Because I was afraid. Max had told me all these things about you. I thought you had some sort of ulterior motive in wanting to bring me here. And you did, you planned on kidnapping me."

"It would have been for your own good." He reminded her, settling himself more comfortably on the bed. "I didn't want Manticore to get you."

"I know that, but you could have let me in on your plan." Angela reprimanded him.

"I couldn't risk you telling Max," Alec said wearily. "It could have ruined everything. Or she could have convinced you not to come with me."

"I still would have come, Alec." She told him softly. "No matter what Max or anyone else said to me, I still would have come."

"Good to know," he mumbled, pulling her closer to him. "Sleep now, talk later."

Angela smiled and snuggled down next to him. "I feel like a teddy bear." She told him. But he was already asleep. Angela grinned, he looked so cute when he was sleeping, and for the first time in months Angela slept peacefully.