Disclaimer: If, in a perfect world, I owned Dark Angel, I would be writing episodes for cash, not fanfic for fun…So no, if you're still wondering, I don't own Dark Angel, but I do own Justin, Dalianna, her family and all her X-siblings, but I'm more than willing to share.  If you'd like to use them, please just ask.  Thank you.

Timeframe: After "Freak Nation", end of Season 2

A/N: Ok, it starts off kind of slow, but the ending will lead to better chapters! So be prepared!

Chapter 7

The Quiet After the Storm

The moment of truth…Max thought to herself.  Do I lie, or tell her the truth?  She took a good long look at Dali before answering.

"No," she finally responded before taking a seat on the edge of the bed.  "He didn't."

Disappointment was written all over Dali's face for a few seconds, and then was gone as quickly as it showed up.

"So, you wanna tell me why Logan thinks he can't touch you?" Dali asked, while simultaneously, Max asked, "Tell me about your brother.  What was he like?"  Dali looked at Max confused for a moment.

"What made you ask that?" they both asked at once.

Dali smiled.  "I guess I'll go first.  My brother…" she trailed off.  "My brother Randy, was the commanding officer of our unit.  He didn't really get along with Zach too well when he showed up.  I guess they were too much alike.  He was older than me, but not by much, maybe a couple of months.  I think he liked me the best."

"What makes you say that?" Max asked.

"Oh, just the way he treated me.  Like I was his favorite.  It got on everybody else's nerves, but I never had a problem with it."

"You guys were close huh?"

"Yeah, we were pretty tight."

"Tighter than you and Justin?"

Justin…Dali thought, as she was reminded of her own memories of the two of them together.  "No, Justin and I were about as tight as we could get.  Randy was my brother, and I cared—care about him very much.  Once, after we completed this mission…"

Dali flashed back to the memory.  There were seven or eight children standing in line, with Lydecker pacing in front of them.

"First, I want to congratulate you on completing your mission."

"Thank you sir!" came the surrounding response.

"Then, I want to scold you for doing it so sloppily!" There was no response now.  "You!" he spat as he approached Randy's younger version.  "You're supposed to be in charge.  What happened out there?"

"I'm not sure sir.  One minute X6-263 was marching with us, and the next, she disappeared."

"A likely story I'm sure," Lydecker replied with sarcasm dripping in his voice.  "See, something that I think that this unit has yet to understand is that losing a part of your unit is like losing a part of your body.  You need all of the parts of your body to function, you need all of the members of your unit to function.  Are you all drawing my parallel?"

"Sir yes sir!" was the response.

"Good." He approached one of the armed soldiers at the door to the room, and took  a large hammer from them.  "Now, I know that sometimes, a lesson has yet to be learned until an individual experiences it themselves.  And since you've lost a member of your unit, I think it only fair that you should lose a part of your body.  X6-812!"

"Yes sir!" Randy answered.

"Step forward and place your hand on the table." Randy stepped forward, but did not place his hand on the table.  Suddenly, Dali stepped forward.

"Permission to speak sir!"

"Permission denied!  Get back in line soldier!" he ordered.  "812, place your hand on the table now, or the entire unit will suffer the consequences!"

"Sir, X6-927 would like to receive all punishment given as reparation for X6-812's errors."  Lydecker looked up at her with growing interest.

"Is that a fact?  And why, may I ask, is that?"

"Sir," she started without giving herself a chance to rethink what she was doing.  "812 is a valuable asset to this unit.  Without him, we would not have been able to complete the mission.  Having him disabled is a disadvantage to the entire team."

"Indeed," Lydecker agreed.  He paused for a few seconds, seemingly thinking over the proposal in his mind.  "812!"

"Yes sir!" Randy responded.

"Back in line."  Randy looked over at Dali, then stepped back in line.  "927…step forward…and place your hand on the table."  Dali stepped forward to the table, and slowly placed a shaking hand on it.  Lydecker raised the hammer and took hold of her wrist.  "Remember soldier, pain is relative…"  He brought down the hammer on the young girl's hand, and the ring from the metal of the hammer reverberated through the hallways.

The flashback came to a screeching halt.

"He broke your hand?" Max asked incredulously.

Dali held her hand up in front of her face, and flexed the fingers, as if checking to see if they still worked.  "All 26 bones…" she admitted.  "You know, I can say with complete and total honesty, that there is no one I hate more in this world than Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker, and if I never see him again, it will be millennia too soon."

Wow, Max thought raising her eyebrows, and I thought my abhorrence for this guy was strong, she hates him with a flaring passion…and with good reason.

"Anyway, so yeah, I gave my hand for Randy…but for Justin, I would have given my life."  I miss him so much… "So tell me what's going on with Logan," she said with a quick subject change.  Max was taken aback by the question.  She appeared to have forgotten that Dali had asked her the same only a few minutes ago.

"What about him?"

"Why does he think he can't touch you?"

Max took a deep breath.  "Well, since we're already knee-deep in painful issues…Logan is—"

"Eyes Only, yeah I know."

"Well, that's not what I was gonna say, but yeah, he is.  He's been doing cable hacks ever since as far back as I can remember.  He promised to help me take down Manticore…and we did, but something went wrong.  I was killed, shot by my own X7 clone." She waited before continuing.  "My brother gave his heart so I could live, but Manticore had already found out who Logan was.  So they put this virus in me, and now even the slightest touch could kill him."

"A genetically targeted retrovirus…ingenious…" she responded, and then upon seeing the look on Max's face, "I mean, not ingenious that they did it to you…just…oh, nevermind.  So now you guys can't touch?"

Max sighed.  "Suddenly, I don't even feel comfortable standing in the same room as him.  We've already had too many close calls.  How lucky can we get?  You know, I'm just afraid that next time, we might not be able to get an out, and I don't think I could live with that on my conscience.  So I want to run, to just get away, and never come back.  But then I look at him, and I remember everything that we've been through.  And I see mirrored in his crystal blue eyes, the same hurt, the same concern, the same uncertainty.  But also, hope.  Hope that one day, we'll find a cure.  I just want things to go back to the way they used to be."  Dali watched Max for a long time without saying anything before Max realized it.  "What?" she asked.  Dali just gave her a bittersweet smile.

"Ah mi, c'est le amour…"

"You speak French?"

"Don't change the subject.  You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What? No!" Dali just looked at her.  "Well, maybe…I don't know.  Sometimes, I think I'm pretty sure that I am, but then…"

"There's another guy." Dali interrupted her.  "…Alec?!" she asked incredulously.

"I know what you're thinking.  I thought the exact same thing when we first met, but just when I think he can't get any more irresponsible, annoying, or obnoxious, he…I don't know, he shows a side of him I've never seen before."

"Right, and that's clouding your judgment.  Look Max, at Manticore, we were taught that the brain is the most important organ in the body, and when all else fails, it's what we rely on, but I think it's in times like these, that the heart is even more important.  Think with your heart, not your head.  You have to choose."

"I know.  And will you stop looking at me like that, you're freaking me out."

"Looking at you like what?" Dali asked innocently.

"Like you already know the answer.  How can you know, if I don't even know?"

"Max, I hate to break it to you, but everybody knows how you really feel about Logan.  Everybody that is, except you…and Logan."

"Am I that clear?"

"Glass crystal," Dali responded quickly.

"But how do you know when you're in love?"

Dali smiled.  "It's not something you can explain.  It's a feeling.  It means that he's the only thing you want for Christmas.  It means that you would get up at 3 am and drive over to his place to comfort him after he's had a bad dream.  Being in love means not even wanting to go to sleep, because real life is better than any dream you could ever have.  It's having his face be the last thing you see before you close your eyes at night, and the first thing you see when you open them in the morning.  When you see him, your stomach drops, your head goes spinning and your heart skips a beat.  And every touch drives you crazy."

It was Max's turn to smile.

"Now who's in love?"

Dali looked at her skeptically.  "What, with Randy?  No way.  I told you, he's my brother, and I love him, but I'm not in love with him."

"Not Randy silly.  Justin."

Dali didn't know how to answer her.  "I'll always be with you…" Justin's voice echoed throughout her mind.  He always used to sing the same song to me… "Keep smilin, keep shinin, knowin you can always count on me, for sure, that's what friends are for…"  That old-school pre-pulse Stevie Wonder song.  Well, now's as good a time as any to be truthful.  "You know, I think I was."

Max smiled again, this time to herself.  "Sometimes I just really wish I could—"

"Yeah, me too," Dali interrupted her.

"And then we could—"

"Just one more time."

"And finally—"

"Oh yeah, I miss that."  They laughed together, but their laughter was broken, by the opening of the door.  Logan came in carrying a sheet of paper.

"Morning ladies."

"Good morning," Max replied.

"Is it morning already?" Dali asked.

"Yeah," he seemed to be wanting to say something more, but not sure if he should say it.  "So how're you feeling?" he asked Dali

"Much better than I was.  Thanks for asking."

"What's wrong?" Max wondered.

Logan sighed before answering.  "White's been showing a picture of a barcode around town, asking if anybody recognizes it."

"White?" Dali asked, "as in Ames White?"

"Yeah, that's him," Max told her before turning back to Logan.  "But it shouldn't matter right?  I mean, to humans, all the barcodes look the same."

"Well that's just the thing," Logan said.  "He knows where to look for transgenics, and he's asking them specifically, promising them freedom as opposed to captivity if they help find whoever the barcode belongs to.  In fact, the only reason I found out, is because he happened to ask for Alec's help.  So whoever it is, it must be incredibly important if he's passing up the opportunity to capture other transgenics.  I was thinking maybe we could find out who it is, you know, give them a heads up."  Max and Dali listened intently.  Logan held the sheet out to them.  "Either of you recognize it?"

Max shook her head.  "It looks familiar, like maybe I've seen it before, but I've seen hundreds of barcodes, it could be anyone.  Dali, you recognize it?"

Dali stared fixedly at the paper before nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I know who it is."

"Well, who is it?" Logan asked pressedly.

She looked up at them.  "It's me."

Post-note: Thanks everyone for the great reviews.  Chapter 8 coming next week!  Happy New Year!!!!

Angie731