~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy's room, TC Medical Center

Max walks into Lucy's room to find her enthralled in her book on genetics. ~Wouldn't Dix be proud?~ "Hey Luce. What's up?" she asks, and Lucy snaps the book shut.

"Hey Max. Nothing much, just trying to figure out my messed up DNA. You?" she asks, setting the book on the table.

"Same. So, you find anything out?" she asks Lucy.

"I got nothin'. Take a seat." Lucy tells her, motioning to the end of the bed. Max sits down and sighs.

"Damn. Do you know how hard it is to plan a dance? You need decorations, and music, and then you have to worry about being asked and...oh my god, this is a mess." she rants, burying her face in her hands.

"I know." Lucy sympathizes, "I was on the dance committee in high school. It was really stressful." Max nods, feeling the need to either punch something. Lucy pulls her into a hug. "Hey," she says cheerfully, "I could help you!"

"Really?" Max asks gratefully. Lucy lays down on the bed sideways, so her feet and head dangle off. She nods enthusiastically, swinging her feet with uncontrolled excitement.

"Uh huh! We can get a good band to play, and crepe paper's pretty easy to get. Oh, and we can have the little kids make snowflakes or hearts during daycare." she says excitedly. Max lays down next to her and smiles, feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.

"It'll keep them from eating anybody." Max says, smirking.

"For a while, anyway." Lucy nods, and they both laugh. She looks at Max, her face serious now. "Max, thank you so much for being so kind to me. You don't know how much I miss just having someone to talk to."

"No big." Max says, blushing softly at the thank you. ~I want her to stay here, so she's safe. She won't be on the outside.~ she thinks, looking at the cheerful girl. ~She's so innocent, even after all she's been through.~ "You should stay here, Lucy. You fit good here."

"I don't know." Lucy says, her face wrinkling in indecision. "White's still after me, and I don't want you guys to be in danger just because of me. I can take care of myself."

"We're always on White's radar, Lucy. Don't worry about it. Besides, I think that TC's become attached to you." Max says, trying to tally how many people asked about Lucy.

"They know? About me being different?" Lucy says, panicking. "Oh, no." she groans, hitting her head with her hand.

"No, not a lot of people. Just the medical staff and a few people. They care about you, Lucy. We all do." she explains, and feels the tension leave Lucy's shoulders.

"I don't want to impose, though..." Lucy says nervously, uncomfortable about staying in one place for so long after spending so long running.

"You wouldn't. I could find you a room with an X6- they're your age- and you could help us save the world." Max says, the last part dripping with sarcasm.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be a burden, or trouble to anyone." Lucy tells her, sick of always being thought of as a problem.

"Lucy, you're not a burden. We love having you around, especially Xander. And we all want you to stay here. Besides, you could help me plan all of the "fun" stuff that stresses me out so much." Max says, putting bunny ears around fun.

"Well...ok, maybe I will." Lucy caves, smiling slightly, happier than she's been ever since her 'normal' life ended.

"You will?" Max asks her, smiling at the thought of Lucy staying- she almost thinks of her as a little sister. "Great! You have to meet everyone. They'll love ya."

Lucy smiles, finally feeling welcomed somewhere. "Now," she says in a mock-serious voice, "on to more important things: how do you think that Alec will ask you?" Max rolls her eyes in disbelief, and Lucy scoffs. "Come on, you can't honestly tell me that you don't have feelings for the guy. And he obviously reciprocates. He'll ask you, no question. So, how do you think he'll do it?"

Max's shocked for a moment, then smiles shyly. "I don't know. What about Xander? He's sure to ask you."

Lucy blushes a bit, kind of nervous about going to the dance. "I don't know if he's going to ask me. But if he does, I have a feeling that they're going to be creative."

Max laughs, "Yeah, that's one thing that we can say about them. Oh, god, I hope they don't integrate the munchkins into their plans."

Lucy grins. "Eh, I don't think so-they're too intimidated. Oh, what about singing?"

Max laughs. "I think that I'd fall over if they actually serenaded us. Can you imagine?"

Lucy nods, already getting a visual. "Yeah, they'd probably pick a song like...hmm...Baby Got Back, or 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'!"

They both laugh, and spend the afternoon making up crazy ways that the boys could possibly ask them, not knowing that they've already guessed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alec's Apartment, TC

"How about 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'?" Xander asks, and Alec rolls his eyes and laughs, imagining the beating they'd get.

"Are you kidding me? I think that they'd go on a killing rampage!" he laughs, and Xander bites into a slice of pizza, slightly miffed that his idea didn't make the cut. "How about that old song... 'If It Were Up To Me'?" Alec asks, and Xander easily remembers the Rooney song.

"Sure, it'll be great." he agrees. "So, you nervous?" he asks, trying to be nonchalant but Alec can easily tell that the boy's worried stiff about asking Lucy.

"No." he says, then sees the scrutinous look that Xander's giving him. "Okay, maybe a little. But they'll say yes for sure." he assures him, and Xander smirks.

"We are damn fine, aren't we?" he says, leaning back on his chair and kicking his legs up, running his hands through his hair. Alec kicks out the one chair leg that he's leaning on, and the only thing saving him from falling to a heap is superior genetics.

He stands up and brushes himself off, giving Alec a dirty look. "Well, it's true." he mumbles, and they go on planning their surprise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: hey everyone! Sorry I've been falling behind in updates. I don't know if the last chapter went up ok, or if It did no one reviewed.

So, please review, just so I know if you're reading! Luv ya! Oh, and happy Valentine's day!

Molly Jeane :D