Author's Note: Sorry for the long update, its all mental head slap's fault. Too much to do and so little time. She promises to be much quicker writing next time, or I will personally force her to, either way! Also we may have forgotten to mention when this was set, so to clarify, it is set before She Ain't Heavy but after Dawg Day Afternoon. So Logan thinks Alec and Max are together, but Alec doesn't know.

Alec leant against the wall outside Logan's apartment as Max knocked. He wasn't sure why she was knocking; she usually walked right in. It probably had something to do with avoiding him for his own good, or whatever Maxie's new phrase was.

"It's open," Logan called from inside.

They'd managed to escape the guards easily once they had cleared the perimeter, although Alec had cut his arm on the glass from the window. He was now looking forward to crashing at Joshua's. Alec followed Max as she opened the door and walked in. Logan gave Alec a look he couldn't quite place, but turned his attention back to Max almost immediately.

"Hi Max. What do you need?"

"We got some files off a computer at the genetics lab." Alec watched from his place near the door as Max handed the disk to Logan.

"I'll look over them and get back to you."

"Alec and I are going to the farm to see what we can find."

Alec looked up at that comment, he had agreed to help her, but he didn't realise that meant driving all the way to the middle of nowhere.

"Alec, right..." Logan's voice drifted off and Max started looking uncomfortable. Alec watched the two of them puzzled. He knew he must have missed something; he'd been too busy recently to keep up with the ongoing Max and Logan saga.

"Do you need anything?" Logan asked.

"No, we should be fine."

"Well I'll call you after I've looked at this stuff."

"Okay, I'll check in when we get back."

Wait for it, Alec thought to himself.

"Be careful Max."

"Yeah," Max walked out the door and Alec followed close behind her. Max waited until they were in the elevator before she spoke again, "We need to find a car."

"I'll take care of it, I'll meet you outside Jam Pony in half an hour."

**********************************

Max looked at her watch. Alec was 15 minutes late. She was about to go inside and call him when a black convertible drove around the corner and pulled up beside her. "Hey Maxie, sorry I'm late. It took me a little longer than I expected." Alec cut the engine and climbed out of the car.

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Where do you think? I stole it."

"Very inconspicuous."

"I like to travel in style."

Alec walked over to her and dangled the keys in front of her face, with a smirk. She snatched them out of his hands and handed him a map she'd managed to steal from Normal. "I'm driving. You can give directions."

"Oh, come on Maxie." Alec whined, not grabbing for the keys fast enough. "I got the car. It's only fair that I get to drive."

"There is no way I'm letting you drive." Max walked over to the car and slid into the driver's seat. She put the key in the ignition and started the car. "Are you coming or not, Alec?"

"Fine," Alec said as he slid into the passenger seat. "But I'm driving home."

"Whatever you say."

**********************************

"Turn right up here." Alec said as they approached a T-intersection. Max slowed slightly before speeding off around the corner. She hadn't driven anything but her motorcycle for a while and she was missing only having two wheels to deal with. She leant over Alec to change the radio station.

She rolled her eyes as she saw Alec frantically turn the map over. "Uh, Maxie."

"Don't tell me I was supposed to go left at the intersection back there," She said her eyes back on the road.

"Uh, I'm not sure."

Max slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden stop. "What do you mean you're not sure?"

"I mean I'm not sure."

"You're a highly trained soldier and you can't read a map."

"I can read a map, this is not a map."

"Well what is it then?"

"A piece of paper with lines on it. If you had let me drive we wouldn't be lost."

"Only because I can read a map."

"I can't find the street the farm is on."

Max leaned over toward him studying the map in Alec's lap. Max rolled her eyes as she quickly found the street they were headed for. "It's there."

Alec studied the map intensely and then said, "Then yeah, we were supposed to turn left back there."

"Alec!" Max groaned in frustration as she turned the car around and speed off in the direction they had just come.

A few miles down the road and Alec stopped her again, "Wait, turn right."

"Are you sure?" Max said slowing down.

"Yeah, see that squiggly blue line. It's a short cut."

Max turned the corner and came to another intersection. "What now?"

"Right again here, and now left."

Max sighed as she followed his instructions. At this rate they'd be lucky to make it to the farm at all. They'd been travelling at least half a day.

"Okay turn left up here and we should be on the main road."

"Ah Alec," Max said, slowing down.

"What?"

Alec looked up from the map and saw what Max was pointing to. "It can't be a dead end."

"Give me the map."

**********************************

Alec turned onto a dirt road and followed it until he reached the farm. After Max had driven them to a dead end she'd reluctantly let him drive. He cut the engine and smiled as Max scowled at him. "We're here."

"No thanks to you."

"Hey I drove."

He watched amused as Max got out of the car and slammed the door. He slowly followed to annoy her. Max walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. He could feel Max tensing up beside him as footsteps approached the door. She took a deep breath and exhaled softly.

He had trouble understanding the relationship she had with her unit. He hadn't cared for the members in his unit the way Max had. They'd only been numbers to him, numbers that determined the outcome of a mission. Alec wondered where they all were now. He assumed most of them had done the smart thing and fled.

The door opened to reveal a small blonde woman. A surprised look washed over the woman's face. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Max and this is Alec. We were wondering if we could ask you some questions about Adam."

The woman didn't reply, she just took a step back and held the door open for them to enter. Once they were in the kitchen she motioned for them to sit.

"I'd better get Buddy," she left the room quickly and Alec could hear her leaving the house.

"Buddy? What kind of name is that?" he said trying to lighten the situation. Max's face was devoid of any color and the lines of worry on her face had not lifted since they'd entered.

She glanced at him at him with a slight smile on her lips, "What kind of a name is Alec?"

"Don't ask me, you came up with it."

"I should have called you Dick."

Before Alec could answer, a man who he assumed was Buddy entered.

"I was expecting you," his eyes wandered over to Alec and a look of distrust entered his eyes. "Logan didn't mention you would be coming with a friend."

Max looked over at Alec with some surprise. "It doesn't matter, he's with me. What happened?"

"There was an accident a few weeks back. He hit his head. We were worried at first, but nothing happened for days and we just assumed he was fine. About three days ago there was a news bulletin about the transgenic trouble in Seattle, with that dog man."

"Joshua," Max and Alec said at the same time.

The man paused as he looked from Max to Alec, "Joshua?"

"It's his name," Alec said coldly. Ever since Annie's death, Alec had been strongly protective of Joshua. He knew what Joshua was going through and it had struck a chord with him. Josh hadn't done anything but stare at the paintings of Annie for days. Max's attempts at trying to distract him had failed and it was Alec who sat with him in silence, allowing him to mourn.

"He didn't kill that girl," Max said quietly.

Buddy looked uncomfortable but continued anyway, "Well, he saw the news bulletin and he started acting really strange. Asking us questions about transgenics and about when he'd started working for us. We kept up the story Logan had given us, but I think he's started to remember. One day we woke up and he was gone."

"Did he leave anything behind?"

"No, he took everything, but you're welcome to check."

***********************************

Max kicked the bed in frustration. They'd checked Zack's room twice and neither of them had found anything, unless you counted Alec finding a chocolate bar and eating it. "It was a waste of time coming out here, they didn't tell us anything useful and he there is nothing in this room."

"Something will turn up. He's looking for you remember."

Max felt Alec touch her arm in an effort to calm her. She jerked away angrily, and then regretted it when Alec took a step back. "Sorry it's just..." Max turned away from him as unwanted tears streamed down her face. She tensed as she felt Alec's hand on her shoulder. She hated loosing control, Zack needed her to be strong, not weak, but she couldn't help it. The stress of the last couple of weeks had gotten to her, and she felt like her world was falling down in pieces.

"Max come on, let's go home. Logan will have found something. He always does."

"Yeah," she said, regaining her composure.

"You can even drive, on one condition. We stop off at Joshua's, I need to change."

Max smiled at his comment; she wondered why Alec was able to cheer her up so easily. Lately he'd been less of a pain and more of a friend. She hadn't hesitated in asking him for help and it had made her realise how reliable Alec had become. Not that she'd ever tell him that, he was already to full of himself.

"Deal."

"Oh and can we stop for something to eat?"

"Fine."

"Can you make sure it's one of those places that sells those sweet doughy things? I can't remember what they're called."

Max sighed. "You mean donuts."

"Yeah, that it. I really like those."

"I take it back," Max muttered under her breath.

"Take what back?"

"You are annoying."