A/N: Well, took me long enough, didn't it? *blush* I hope the length of the chapter will make up for that (if you don't fall asleep, that is :-/)

A/N2: Infie, darling… THANKS again. As usual, you always know to make the greatest suggestions. *hugs Infie tightly*

Tough Call

Patient

Maggie Phillips rubbed her temples forcefully, as if that would make the headache go away. One more day. Come on, just one more day!

Tomorrow she could become sick. Tomorrow she could have a fever, a cold, be forced to stay in bed because she couldn't stand up... whatever!

But not today. Today she had five stupid reports to finish and on top of that she had to set everything up for her boss' conference tomorrow in Venice. Which meant, literally every single thing, from the airline tickets to the contents of the presentation itself. From the tickets to the opera with his latest lover to the documents that would back the products he was supposed to be selling. From his schedule and business contact's numbers to buying presents for his wife and kids over the phone and having them delivered to him at the hotel.

And then, she had to go to dinner with Tom. And Maggie was sure today was going to be the day. She had been dating Tom for over two years now. She had put up with all of his stupid little manias, she had endured the tedious talks about his oh-so-great job, she had pretended she was not bored to death with what he had the audacity to call 'great sex'.  She had smiled and acted like a good, shy innocent girl in front of that overbearing dragon that was his mother. All because he had money, but more important, he owned his own place. Maggie had been evicted so many times and had had to pay off sector police so many other times in her twenty four years of life that being the owner of the place she lived in was her one and only obsession.

She would become Mrs. Tom Jones. And she would own part of the small one bedroom apartment. She was not going to let a cold get in the way of the big proposal she had been working her butt off to get.

Maggie got up and went to the bathroom and splashed some water into her heated face. She glanced at herself in the mirror and groaned. Her nose was beginning to look red and there were puffy bags under her eyes. She started looking for her make-up kit inside her purse and tried to ignore the wave of nausea that assaulted her. She was going to get her proposal tonight, and she was going to get her place, even if she had to crawl to the restaurant, she told herself.

But she would never make it to dinner that night. Or any other.


Dr. Sandeman was received at the Northern entrance of Terminal City by a serious Nicole and the young man he had observed in the museum in Salem some days before.

511's speculative eyes were resting on him. He was serious, but not quite like Nicole. It was more as if he was looking for an excuse to smile. He was a very interesting one. He had been able to read him quite clearly that day at the museum. He had been confused about the conversation taking place on the other side of that display, but his foremost thought had been extremely clear to Sandeman; He was worried about 494. Dr. Sandeman had immediately recognized that kind of concern. It was that of a soldier towards a comrade in arms. He had known right away the kid would drive all the way to Seattle to help out his friend. He could warn him on the phone, of course, but he would go there to help whatever way he could. It had been really interesting for him to realize that no matter what efforts Manticore had made to distance the transgenics from one another, the brothers-in-arms camaraderie had been stronger.

"Hello, doctor." The gray-haired X5 said coldly.

"Good to see you again, Nicole." He smiled. She never changed.

"Yeah, good to see you again too, doc." The other man said, raising an eyebrow.

Dr. Sandeman chuckled, yeah, the boy was definitely something, "Same here."

"Please, follow us." The please sounded exactly as what it was: a formality. Nicole had never been one for niceties.

They sat in the back seat of his car and after a quick nod, instructed 627 on where to take them. After a few minutes, they stopped before what looked like an abandoned building.

They got out of the car. Nicole gestured for the doctor to follow and entered through a rusty door that led to a flight of stairs. 627 had also got out and looked at them expectantly. Biggs smiled, "Let's go, kid, wouldn't want to leave you out here, lots of punks on the prowl to rob the distracted tourist or chauffeur."

627 looked at him offended. "They would never be able to rob me!"

"I know," Biggs laughed, "and that's precisely what I want to avoid."

627 followed the X5, not entirely sure if he had just been praised or insulted.


Alec watched Nicole and the infamous Dr. Sandeman walk through the door, followed closely by Biggs and an X6, that according to the description Nicole had given them, had to be 627. He had to be around sixteen, but looked older. He stood at attention until Nicole gave an almost imperceptible nod, and then he relaxed. The doctor was wearing a dark grey suit that seemed new, if a little wrinkled from the trip. He was using a cane like the one described by both Biggs and Ralph.

Alec said nothing as they approached. The doctor had taken one look around the room as he had entered, but then his eyes had completely focused on Max. Alec could feel her nervousness as she stood beside him. Not that it was apparent in her posture or that any movement or expression was giving it away. He just...felt it.

Yet he didn't move to reassure her. It wasn't the time. And she wouldn't have welcomed it anyway.

Sandeman smiled and took a step forward, raising his hand to touch her hair. Max remained completely still. Alec could understand her uneasiness. This was after all 'Father' as Joshua called him. Even he felt somewhat overcome by his presence.

"Look at you, all grown up..." the old man was saying, still smiling. Then he withdrew his hand hastily and looked around again. "I am sorry," he cleared his throat, "it was just a tad overwhelming." He became serious again and extended his hand. "I am doctor Benjamin Sandeman."

Max shook his hand, saying, "Max."

Alec stepped closer and also shook the offered hand. "X5-494," he said, and then a corner of his mouth lifted, "also known as Alec."

Max added, "The one by the door is Biggs," the mentioned one made a two-fingered mock salute, an irreverent smirk on his lips that made Alec smile, "and you already know Nicole." She finished.

The human smiled at each of them in turn. "Well, I guess that means I should introduce my companion. Everyone, this is 627."

Max smiled at the X6. "627, huh? Well, we can't have that." She paused, looking at the kid "You are awfully quiet. Gonna call you Zip. And shut up, Alec!" she said before he could say anything.

The boy blinked but said nothing.

"Zip. Suits him." The doctor said, bringing everyone's attention back to him. After a few more seconds of silence, he spoke again. "I guess you must have some questions to ask me, right?"


"A couple, yeah." Max said in what seemed like an easygoing tone. "Maybe."

He watched Alec pick up right were Max left off, same tone even. Dr. Sandeman wasn't fooled by it, but he didn't resent the mistrust. These kids were trained as soldiers and they'd been through a lot. Not an easy combination. "But why don't you tell us about yourself first."

Nicole didn't move a muscle, but the doctor sensed her approval of the approach the other two transgenics had chosen. Nicole always admired cold headed, strategic thinking, even when it was used against her or her interests.

He cleared his throat. "Right." He looked at the only chair sitting in the middle of the room and pointed at it with one hand, "Mind if I sit down? I'm a bit old, and this might take a while."

"Not at all, please do." Max said politely at the same time Alec made the corresponding gesture with his arm. They were very good at this, the doctor thought. He wondered if they practiced it. He sat down, and placed the cane across his lap.

"Well, as you all probably know by now, I used to be a Familiar. My mother was one. My father was chosen for her. I don't remember him. He was out of the picture before I got to the age when I'd remember him. I never found out what happened to him." He looked down, more thoughtful than sad, before raising his eyes again. "I went to a very exclusive school. And I really mean that. Everyone who wasn't one of 'us' was excluded. It wasn't until I got out of there and went to university that I ever came in contact with 'normal' people. It was weird for me."

He watched Max nod in sympathy. Yes, these kids would understand. They'd probably had similar experiences when they first left Manticore. "I got my Ph.D in Genetics. I met my wife Nicole," he smiled at the X5 standing to his right, "naturally, by design of the Conclave. We married. We lost two kids before we had our first boy."

"Ames." Max said.

He looked at her and then at Nicole, who just said: "It became necessary to divulge that information. Could not be helped."

The doctor rubbed a hand against his forehead, "Very well," he knew she wouldn't have shared the information unless it really was indispensable. "It is not that I wanted to hide it, but my son and I… we haven't been very close. We don't see eye to eye on many things. I know he was after you two." He looked at Max and Alec, still standing in the same spot they'd been when he came in. They nodded. He shook his head. "I can't really blame him for that, he is doing what he has been taught. He was exposed to the doctrine since he was very young. He knows nothing else. What always disappointed me was his lack of vision, his inability to see that the way they taught us might not be the only one." His tone mirrored his frustration.  He was being honest. He only hoped the transgenics would see it. He sighed. "But I am getting ahead of myself. I started working in genetics. I was one of the best in the field. It fascinated me. Genetically enhanced cells were always my priority; after all, all of us Familiars had them. Ours were acquired through thousands of years of selective breeding, a careful and long-running procedure to improve our genes. I found a way to accelerate that process. And by including animal DNA to add other qualities, created you." He raised his arms to encompass all the others in the room. An unmistakable look of pride was in his eyes as he looked at each of them in turn.

"Of course, it took many years. You have probably seen some of the earlier experiments, one of them was on the news not long ago. We worked harder until we created perfection. You." He smiled.

"During my first years investigating I had another son, C.J. He was a weak little boy. I checked his blood and genetic make-up. I knew he wouldn't make it through the Trial. When I started creating the first transgenics, I tried to make them immune. To see if there was a way I could adapt it to make C.J. immune too. I know it sounds calculating, but I just wanted my boy to survive."

"Unfortunately, I couldn't perfect it before he reached the appropriate age. So I took him away. I sent him somewhere I knew he would be safe. I attempted to send Ames with him, but he was old enough to oppose me. As a result, I was banned. They tried to make me disappear. I was, however, a big part of one of the government's most secret and well guarded projects. They were unable to reach me."

The Xs nodded. Manticore was definitely not common knowledge, at least not back then. And certainly not a place anyone could easily get in or out of. It took twelve transgenics working as a unit to escape that one time, and four of them to get back in afterwards. Still, they hadn't been completely successful, since two of them had gone down or been captured in the attempt.

Dr. Sandeman continued. "The irony of it all was the fact that not two months after it all transpired, I was finally able to perfect the technique. It was then that all of you were created. Actually, all of you who are X5s." He smiled briefly at Zip, before glancing back at Max. "You were one of the last ever created. It took me a little longer to encode everything I needed to into you."

"The message?" Max asked.

"Yes, the message, but also the virus. I needed a pure sample to make a vaccine out of it, but also I needed to hide it, so no one would know."

"Why exactly?" Max interrogated him.

"I had been trying to convince the conclave of the advantages of genetic manipulation over breeding methods for years. Not as replacement, but as improvement. Even before I started with Manticore. Yet they would have none of it. It was against the way it had always been. I had accepted it, reluctantly. Nevertheless, when I realized what would happen to my youngest son and I was exiled, I realized something else. I knew I would survive The Coming, and however confident I was in my ability to find a way to ensure C.J.'s survival, I simply did not want to live in a world where only these stubborn and inflexible people lived. That was why you were made." He told her with a smile.

"We wanted to ask you. It's related to something you said before. How was it possible that no one ever found the virus in her?" Alec asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Yes, and also, if I have the pure stock or whatever you science guys call this, how come I never infected anyone? I've... I've had... contact with other transgenics," a blush crept into Max's cheeks as she added to Alec's question, "and I understand them not getting sick, given what you said about us being immune and all. But I've also been with humans, even given blood to them, and nothing happened to them, well... nothing bad."

Sandeman nodded, understanding their concerns. "Well, that is exactly what I meant by 'hiding it'."

Alec interrupted him, "Layman's terms, will you? Some of us haven't had that much training on genetics." He said, looking at Max with a smirk.

"Yeah, that's right," she replied smiling sweetly, a hand on her hips, "what with all the training in fighting and guns and stuff, these poor kids had no time for Biology." She signaled the male transgenics in the room. Alec and Biggs looked at her with identical expressions of disbelief. "Not *that* kind of biology, anyway," she amended as she rolled her eyes. 

The doctor smiled at their banter, "Very well. The virus was dormant in your spleen and your appendix. These are both organs you can live without, which made them less likely to become the target of one of Manticore's research focuses. Along with the runes that appeared on you, the virus was released.  You see? It was impossible for you to infect anyone before. Your blood was the same as everyone else's."

Max nodded and frowned at the same time. "Does that mean I could infect people now? I can't give blood?"

Sandeman smiled again. "Don't worry. The virus is still encased in a protein capsule. It acts as a protective shield." He watched Alec look at her with a faint smile. So they had already noticed the coating. These kids were not dumb at all. Once again he felt a surge of pride engulf him. "I wasn't going to risk you accidentally infecting someone after all the planning and waiting now, was I?" They all smiled with him. All except Nicole, of course.

"Only a specific chemical reaction would be able to release it. Nothing you can naturally ingest, and the reaction can only happen in certain controlled circumstances. However, I am under the suspicion you already know all this. I am positive Nicole has told you, and you have been able to fill in the blanks. Am I right?" he smiled at them again.

"Naturally," Alec looked at Biggs and Max and back at him, a smirk spreading over his lips. "We wouldn't want to disappoint our 'Father'." He winked as he said the last word.

Dr. Sandeman grinned and wrinkles creased the skin around his eyes, making him look like a thin, beardless version of Santa Claus. He had to resist the urge to ruffle the kid's hair. He definitely seemed to be a mischievous, irreverent scoundrel. Sandeman somehow knew with certainty that this one must have driven everyone at Manticore crazy. "And I presume you have also been working on making a vaccine. Have you accomplished it?" he asked.

It was 452… Max, he corrected himself, who answered. "We think we have. We've... well, actually they've isolated the virus from the coating and made an experimental version. The thing is, we need to test it. We've tried it on the few rats that survived here in Terminal City and it worked. But we infected them with my own virus, so we can't be positive it's going to be the same as with the snake blood one."

"Plus, even if it does work, we need supplies. Our guess is they'll be releasing this in some way on the night of the solstice, in different parts of the US and, we assume the rest of the planet. This would be the best way to assure maximum spread. If it is the same as Max's, it's not airborne. Still, it does survive in water, so it stands to reason they'll try and infect watercourses with it." Sandeman nodded as Alec stopped to look at him. It was certainly the way the Familiars had planned it. Thousands of years of planning, and these kids figured it out in a matter of days. Of course, the transgenics had been trained by military experts. Alec confirmed this with his next words. "We can naturally move out to try to stop them. We know, after all, the best vectors for introduction into a water system." Alec smirked. Yes, definitely knows every biochemical attack scenario the CDC and Pentagon ever came up with, Benjamin thought. Alec continued talking, "but we can't make sure we've covered them all. And we don't have the manpower to do so anyway. So we need to prepare as much of the vaccine as we possibly can in the few days we have left. Providing, of course, it's the correct one."

"Well, I might be able to help in that department." Sandeman shot them a mischievous smile. "I am not sure if Nicole told you, but I used to have labs in this part of town." The transgenics looked at each other and then back at him. "I think it will be best to show you. We have to move into another building, though."


Dr. Lewis adjusted his mask again and checked his suit before leaving the room. Plastic drapes sealed the chamber. He stepped into another makeshift isolation room and looked at the chart.

Maggie Phillips; 24 years of age. Admitted at 12pm with a temp of 107 degrees, BP of 210 over 160, dizziness, petechial marks on her face.

It was the same symptoms as the rest of them.

This was not good.

He watched the girl on the bed. She was kind of pretty. Or she used to be. Her face was all swollen and red. She was sweating and tossing around the bed. He checked her IV and placed a gloved hand on her forehead.

There really wasn't much he could do. He had started with the regular procedures for hemorragic fevers, but according to the lab results, this wasn't like any known virus they had ever seen. Not even the ones found only in textbooks.

The head nurse came up to him and he shook his head. "Continue giving her fluids. Try to make her as comfortable as possible."

"Yes, Dr. Lewis." She said.

He moved to leave but said, turning at the last minute. "Make sure you don't get contaminated. I'm calling the CDC right now."


Max looked at Alec and Biggs as they all moved to walk to the other building, and then nodded. "All right, Doctor," she said, "while we are at it, why don't you tell us a bit more. Say... about Renfro."

Dr. Sandeman smiled sadly. "Elizabeth..." he sighed. "Elizabeth was a Familiar. She was sent to Manticore to kill me. After many years, they were finally able to place someone on the inside. I had met her before. She had been a student of mine when I was still teaching genetics. She only took a basic course. She was more interested in the administrative areas. Yet she was very bright. When she was still very young, she joined the army, ostensibly to be able to afford college. This was of course, not necessary, the Familiars were all more than able to place anyone anywhere. They preferred to do things the way they'd seem least suspicious, though." The doctor looked up, startled when Alec kicked a can as they stepped out into a dark alley. Max shook her head at Alec, who made his best 'oops' face and gestured for the doctor to continue.

"Elizabeth met a young man in the army. She fell for him completely. She knew it wouldn't be allowed, but she couldn't stop herself."

Max looked at Alec and could see he was having the same trouble she was trying to picture bitch Renfro as young, let alone in love.

"When The Conclave found out, they ordered her to terminate her relationship immediately. It was very difficult for her, but she did what she had to. She broke the boy's heart and her own, and she severed all ties with him." Sandeman explained. "She focused all her energy in her work. She was very capable, and very soon she was going up the ranks of the military." They turned around a corner into a street with taller buildings, a quick look around told Max this was the part of Terminal City they had not been able to check out yet. Well, of course they had checked it out, but not thoroughly.

"A short time after all this transpired, the lad was killed in a car accident. I knew it was a set-up, an assassination. So did Elizabeth. She took it in and continued as usual. But something was broken inside of her." They turned another corner and walked down yet another street, avoiding pieces of junk and debris.

"When I found out she had been sent to Manticore I confronted her," the doctor resumed his tale, "I told her what I was trying to do. She agreed. More out of hate for the Conclave than love of humanity. She had become a bitter woman." Max could hear the pity in his voice. "Still, whatever her reasons, she agreed to stage my demise and aid me in my hiding. She told Nicole it was important to keep me alive. And this was true, but it was not important for Manticore. It was important to her. The guards in the house were there to keep me safe, rather than to keep me from escaping. And that was also the reason you were there as well, Nicole. Insurance." He looked at Nicole fondly. "I am not sure why she didn't tell you this. My guess is she wanted to make sure I wouldn't betray her and go back to The Conclave, exposing her and most importantly, keeping her from getting her revenge. As I said, she'd become rather bitter."

Max did not doubt that for a second. And by their expressions –or rather, the lack of them – neither did the rest of the transgenics around her. Plus, Max had only endured the woman for a few months. She could only begin to imagine what it had been like for the rest of them. She turned her attention back to the old man as he continued to speak.

"Of course, I can't really blame her for the lack of trust. I didn't exactly rely on her either. I never told her about 452. All she knew was that I'd perfected away to make you would survive. It was the reason she was so adamant you became the best soldiers, she wanted you to fight against the Familiars." He made a waving gesture with his hand, "It wasn't until shortly before you burnt down the place that I told her we needed to find the one with no junk DNA. I told her that for security reasons I had made sure I didn't know which egg I had encoded all this in. This is of course, completely absurd, but she did not have that much of an imagination, and certainly not enough knowledge to doubt my claims. She called me a couple of days later, saying she'd found you. However, that same night I heard about the fire in the 'Veteran's Hospital'. The search began all over again, only this time without Manticore's resources." He smiled crookedly. "Fortunately, I had Nicole with me. She was the one that thought about checking out the exhibition at the museum. It had been mysteriously robbed, she figured it had to have been an X series. And she also figured the ones chasing after the transgenics would deduce that and be there as well. All we had to do was tag them, and sooner or later they would lead us to you. Our running into X6-215 forced us to split forces, however. It was another possible lead to the Familiars and more transgenics, and Nicole went to check that out."

He signaled a one-storied building to their left. "When I saw 511 had heard the entire conversation between my son and the other Familiar I knew he'd come back here to help. So I arranged for 215 to 'run into him'. I was told after the fact that it wasn't the smartest of moves," he smiled at the gray-haired X5 and Max could just imagine Nicole's disdain at such a poorly designed plan. "But it worked, to some extent."

They reached the door of the designated building and Sandeman opened it.  Of course, like most doors in Terminal City, it wasn't locked. They entered a spacious room with tables that looked as though they were once white, sinks, ovens with ventilation chutes on the sides, and a desk in a corner. The artifacts were missing –post-pulse piracy, no doubt- but the air was musty, as if the place had been closed for years. There were floor to ceiling closets on the far wall.

Max almost smiled as she watched Biggs come in last. She had caught the sign Alec had made for him before they left the chamber they had first received the doctor in. She imagined it had been for Biggs to call HQ to make sure Regina was still entertained while they walked the streets of Terminal City. She had to hand it to the dark haired guy, not even she had seen him do it. He had seemed to be walking beside them the whole way. Of course, he'd been behind them on the stairs, which had been really handy. And then, when they were out, Alec had accidentally kicked that can. A few months back she would have written it off as typical Alec clumsiness. But now she had taken it for what it was, a little diversion to allow Biggs to click off the phone and put the cell back into his pocket.  It had been perfectly executed by both of them.

After the door closed behind them, Dr. Sandeman approached one of the cabinets.  He opened a drawer, extended his hand to touch something in the upper part of the drawer case, and there was a very faint swooshing sound. One that all of them had no trouble hearing, due to their enhanced capabilities.

Sandeman walked up to another closet door and opened it. He pushed the back panel lightly and it opened to reveal a dark, small space behind. He gestured for them to pass. Nicole put out a hand to stop Max when she would have moved and Max groaned internally, but said nothing. What would be the point?

Biggs entered first, followed by the doctor and Alec and Zip. The girls only proceeded after hearing a piercing whistle, out of human hearing-range: Biggs' 'all clear'. None of them thought there was something to fear in there, but training had a way of kicking in on situations like this, Max thought as she crossed the threshold and followed Nicole down a flight of stairs. She watched a pair of lights start to move downstairs. Biggs' and Alec's flashlights, turned on for the benefit of the doctor, no doubt. None of them were sure about the Familiar's abilities, but Regina hadn't been able to see too clearly at the warehouse that night.

Sandeman pressed a button on the wall, and the hidden opening quietly closed behind her, before another door opened at the bottom of the stairs.

As Max and Nicole entered the room, they were met by a state of the art, spotlessly clean  - the isolation panels on both the doors they had gone through probably responsible for that - laboratory. Everything was gleaming white and looked new. It looked very much like the labs at Manticore.

"Whoa!" Biggs exclaimed softly, pretty much summing up what they were all thinking.

"Yes," the doctor nodded, "here we have all the necessary equipment and supplies," he signaled a floor to ceiling refrigerator door on one of the walls, "to provide a vaccine for the entire United States, and with a large quantity to spare."

"You certainly were prepared, doc." Alec said with a smile, his hands inside his jacket pockets and his weight balanced on the balls of his feet. He looked completely adorable. Max frowned. They'd been looking for the doctor for many months, and now that he was there, all she could think of was how cute Alec was.

She took a deep breath and focused on what Sandeman was saying about knowing the day would come. Soon she was completely absorbed by virus issues.


"This one all right?" 'Joe' asked 215 for the fourth time in the past half hour.

The blonde girl looked thoughtful and then nodded. "Yes, this will do. Let's go in."

"Finally!" Joe muttered under his breath. He wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with 215 today, but she had been taking them from one place to another all day, They had scoped more supermarkets and shops that he even knew how to count. And finally, when they were heading back to Terminal City, she said they should go train a little. She had overheard the X5s talking about testing the X6s to see if they were still fit, and that they shouldn't be all out of practice.

Joe and Lizzie had immediately agreed. The last thing he wanted was for 494 to think he was a slacker. The X5 had been his hand to hand instructor for a while back at Manticore. He was the best. Lizzie wouldn't want to let Alec down either. She still thought Alec was 'way cute', which angered Joe, even though he didn't understand why, since he knew it to be the truth. Regina had been the only one opposing the idea, saying she wasn't in the mood for sparring. But Ralph had looked at her and asked if she wanted to let their superiors down. At which point, 809 had had to reluctantly agree to the work. One never wanted to let one's superiors down.

But then, instead of going to the nearest buildings to headquarters, Ralph had taken them to the eastern limits of TC. And then she shook her head at one building after another. Which was why he was glad she had finally found one to her liking.

It was an old building, with very thick walls and only one small window, high up one of the sides.

"I heard that!" Ralph turned to look at him with mock anger in her eyes. "But, I am going to let it slide, because I am a very good girl.  So, " she smiled, "I am going to let Lizzie here kick your ass in there."

Had he been around Max longer, he would have realized she was doing her best to imitate the oh-niner's speech. But since he hadn't, all he thought was how strange that sounded.

They all entered the building and, after shoving some machinery to the sides, they had a pretty decent area to spar.

Joe smiled at Lizzie as she tied her fiery red hair in a tight ponytail. He took off his shirt. He would have preferred to go against one of the others. He was awfully good at hand to hand and he had wanted her to watch him, for some reason. He looked in Ralph and Regina's direction, to see if there was any chance they'd switch places. But he saw Ralph already approaching the other girl with a feral smile on her lips.

"Well, I guess that leaves you and me, huh?" She said.

Joe thought it was a little odd, he never would have pegged 215 for one to like fighting, but she appeared to be looking forward to this.

Oh, well, he guessed this wasn't so bad. He was not going to be able to show off for Lizzie, but at least he'd be touching her, and maybe showing her some moves? Who knew... could be fun.


Alec climbed up the stairs of headquarters' building three steps at a time. Once he was out on the roof he looked around before heading towards the dark shape perched atop the four-foot tall wall that surrounded the structure.

He leaned against the brick barrier and looked out into the city of Seattle. It seemed strangely peaceful and gray. All sorts of noises reached this part of Terminal City from the streets beyond the fences during the day, but in this twilight hour, it appeared to be deserted. Some lights were on, but mostly people preferred to save what little energy they had, making the town look ghostly.

The rain had stopped some ten minutes before, so he had known he'd find her here. They remained silent for a few minutes, until Max glanced at him and softly said, "Hey, Alec."

"Oh, please, do I have to do the whole 'Hey, Max' with the silly smile the way Logan used to? Cause it'll make my stomach turn, and seriously, more disgusting smells are the last thing we need in this dump. Of course, I could try and s...-"

"Oh, yuck, Alec." She hit his shoulder, making a funny face. "Can't you be serious for like once?" But she was smiling.

He looked thoughtful before saying, "Uhm...no?" They smiled at each other. "Whatcha doing here anyway?"

She sighed and turned serious again. "Needed some air."

"Was that a hint?" He asked with a wink.

"Pfft, as if you would care if it was." She challenged him with raised eyebrows.

"I am offended!" He mockingly protested, but then turned serious eyes her way. "It's going to be all right, Max."

She blinked and he saw the moisture glinting in her dark eyes. "I keep telling myself that, you know? But how do we know? It's a huge responsibility. And I know I probably sound like a pathetic, whiny broad, but why did it have to be me?"

"Don't worry, I am used to whiny you." He winked playfully, but his hand was resting on hers and he squeezed it reassuringly.

Max smiled at him lightly, shaking her head. "You are unbelievable, you know that? Where do you find the strength to joke at a time like this? And don't tell me you are not worried, cause I know you are. So much could go wrong... "

He raised a shoulder and sighed. "I know, and I am worried. And if there was any way I could take the load off your shoulders I would. But I can't."

"I know you would."

He gazed into her eyes, searching. "Do you?"

She nodded.

"Good." He just said and climbed on the wall. They both sat there in silence for a few more minutes, staring at the horizon.

The images of all that had transpired during the day kept repeating themselves in Alec's mind as he sat there with her. They'd come back to headquarters after making sure Regina wasn't around. Ralph had suggested a little sparring session. Alec knew the Familiar would feel no pain, but he almost felt sorry for her. Almost, he thought with a smirk. That should keep her ... entertained.

He smiled as he recalled Joshua's face as he saw 'Father'. He had practically flung himself at the doctor. It had been worth seeing. And the doctor had been so surprised to see him there as well. Alec could tell he was genuinely happy.

And then Sandeman had gone to show Dix the installations. Dix had been delighted.

Suddenly, Max spoke again, startling him. "Do you ever think what life will be like for it?"

He didn't have to ask what she was talking about. "Yes, I do."

She looked back at him. "What if we fail? What if we can't stop this virus madness?"

"We will stop it. But even if we can't, the baby will be fine. We'll make sure of it. He or she will have us, won't have to be alone. And we'll take care of it. This virus doesn't affect plants and animals. We can survive in any environment. And we can fight if we have to. So it's going to be all right." He said seriously.

She looked at him with unshed tears in her eyes and nodded. She tried to say something, but closed her mouth again.

"And I am not just saying that. I am promising you. Whatever happens, our baby will be okay." He reached out and pulled her to him, rocking her lightly, his chin on top of her head. "Even if something happens to me, there's still Biggs. And however comfortable I am with it all or not, he's also the baby's father. He'll look after you two." He watched her make a face and smiled lightly. "He's a good guy, Max."

She sighed, "I know... I think."

He tilted her face up and smiled at her mischievously, "But I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. I mean, do you seriously think I would be so easy to get rid of?"

She returned the gesture, "Nah, I guess you just can't stop bugging me long enough to get killed, can you?"

"Exactly." He answered with a grin and a wink. "What do you say? Should we go back inside?"

She sighed. "I guess."

Alec let go of her and turned to hop down of the wall, but he felt her fingers on his arm again.

"Alec," she said softly. And when he looked at her, she was serious again. "Thank you." She said.

He took her words in and just nodded. It wasn't gratitude he saw in her eyes, though. He didn't want to say anything, didn't even want to move; he just wanted to relish the feeling, to enjoy the look in her eyes. He knew it was foolish and maybe even a little pathetic of him, but he didn't care. As casual as he'd tried to make it look, he was worried too. And just having her here with him made him feel better. But when she looked at him like that...

She leaned closer to him, her eyes glued to his. She was going to do it. She was going to kiss him. He held his breath in anticipation.

Yet even when he was expecting it, nothing could have prepared him for the jolt he felt when her lips touched his. They had kissed before, but this was different. His hand reached behind her neck and he brought her closer. There was no mistaking the hunger in the kiss.

Somehow she was sitting across his lap and he unconsciously changed his position to straddle the wall to balance both of them on top of it. His muscles strained and he felt her groan as she sensed it. The next thing he knew, she was practically attacking him. And he was attacking right back. Their tongues were engrossed in a back and forth battle, hands were roaming all over with a distinct feeling of urgency.

He lowered the zipper of her leather vest, his lips following the trail with hungry kisses. When he raised his head again, he remained completely enthralled by the sight of the black, lacy bra. The thought that he had never pictured her as one to go for lace – no matter how much he had wished and dreamed of it – intruded his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. She was tugging at his hair to make him lift his lips back to hers, and he didn't disappoint her.

His thumbs softly touched the smooth fabric over her breasts and she arched her back, her legs tightening around him.

Damn, this felt nice. He'd been dying to touch her, especially this last week, having her so close all the time, living under the same roof... He wasn't sure how it had started right now, but he didn't care. And he wasn't going to let anything spoil it. Nope, not even that shrilling whistle that was drilling into his brain.

"Damn." He drew away from her and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he watched her eyes focus again and knew she had heard it too. She had no way of knowing exactly what it was saying – it was Biggs' and his personal code – but she knew it was important enough for him to have stopped. "Not critical," he assured her, "but there's something we need to see."

She nodded, not looking at him, and he held her by her waist to lift her off his lap and lower her onto the roof again. He jumped down and stood in front of her. He looked down and then started to slide the zipper back up. "I'm sorry." He wasn't apologizing, he was just regretting he had had to stop.

"It's okay." She said, her smile a little unsure. "Shouldn't we be going down?"

"Yeah." He said softly and turned to leave. She placed a hand on his arm to stop him and kissed him again. Passionately. Before whispering "I am sorry too" and looking at him with longing in her eyes.

Then her entire demeanor changed, "Now let's go, soldier. Or...perhaps you need a little more... time?" she looked down at him, before winking and walking to the stairs, her hips swaying sensuously…

Leaving a very frustrated Alec to count back from twenty. He was going to have to get her back for that. Oh, yeah, he thought as he added another twenty to the countdown.

But then he smiled. He would enjoy it. And more important, for a few minutes, her mind had definitely not been buzzing with gloomy thoughts.

He shook his head again, happy, and started down the stairs to see what else this day had in store for them. He was sure it couldn't be good news. But right now, he was ready for anything.


He was met by complete silence, except for the voice of the anchor woman on TV.

"...Atlanta Sanitary Authorities have refused to comment on it, but our sources report several critical cases of this illness being treated inside the hospital, all of which arrived within barely two hours. The CDC has been called on scene and they have locked the access to the left wing of the hospital. As of now, six people have been confirmed deceased at County General alone. We are waiting for confirmation from the other big hospitals in town, but there's been a definite increase of activity in all of them..." 

The scene cut to a worried looking man in a business suit pacing the street in front of the hospital building. A reporter approached him, microphone in hand. "Sir, have you been here long? Can you tell us anything?"

"They won't let me in. They won't even tell me what is going on. My daughter called me. She said she was going to come here. She wasn't feeling so well. She thought she was coming down with the flu or something. But they aren't letting me in. Won't even tell me anything." His worry and despair seeped through his words. "She was just fine when I talked to her on the phone this morning..."

The image changed back to the blonde journalist in the pink suit. "As you can see, not even family members are receiving any information and the tension is rising as people demand to know what is going on. We repeat, these people became sick today. And there are already fatalities. The number of victims of this disease remains unknown. We will keep you posted. This is Tricia Adams, for WKNN."

Silence permeated the room as the news changed to a multiple car accident in a highway. Alec looked over at Max, who was looking at him out of wide eyes. He sensed Biggs' eyes on him too.

"I thought this was going to come down the day of the solstice." Dix was the first one to find his voice.

As one, they all turned to look at the only non-transgenic in the room, who looked as white as a ghost.

"Well, that was the way it was supposed to. Apparently, someone decided to change the plan."