TITLE: Coming Decisions – Chapter 14

WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)

EMAIL: hmfergie@charter.net

WEBSITE:  webpages. charter. net/ fergus80 (Jensen)

RATING: PG-13 (NC-17 where applicable will be separate)

SUMMARY: Set after Freak Nation. A miss understanding turns into some truth telling and decision making for our transgenic pair.

SPOILERS: Everything!

DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron, FOX, etc. etc. etc.

FEEDBACK: Always makes me smile! :)

DEDICATION: To all the Nuns at the Church of Jensen, the Blue Lady, and of course Jensen!

RANT: Okay… I did the stupid thing and watched Freak Nation with the commentary. Can I actually say I'm HAPPY that DA was canceled? Seriously what Cameron and/or what the writers wanted to do…. UGH! So, with that annoyance in my head, I just had to correct a few things, or I couldn't live with myself, whatever this will be (obviously, writing this, before I write my fic) is the result of this huge annoyance. SO… let's see how it goes. ;)

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Her two friends allowed themselves to be pulled out onto the floor behind her. They looked at each other, both sighing, knowing that their two other friends had a long way to go to figuring each other out. Especially when they were both so much alike. So… so… stubborn.

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The needle withdrew from her arm, and a cotton ball was quickly put in its place. The nurse's hands moved away, and her own fingertips placed pressure on the cotton.

"Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Max gave him an evil glare. "Why don't you sit here and get poked with some needle then?"

He shuddered slightly, "No… that's okay. Been there, done that."

She looked around at the others in the room. Some getting treated. Some treating the others. And some doing work on the lab equipment. "We all have." She sighed.

Alec cleared his throat, "Well hopefully those two pints of blood will help our lab guys make that cure."

She didn't want to think about it, but she knew she had too. Dix and Luke had deciphered the rest of the runes 'message'. She looked back at him, and gave him one of his own smart aleck smiles, "It's not a cure."

He rolled his eyes at her, "Okay. Fine. Miss technical. It's to make another virus that produces the antibodies that will protect everyone from the… 'killer… comet… virus'." His tone going into that B-horror movie sounding voice.

She tried not to laugh, and accomplished it by hitting him in the shoulder, "Grow up! This is serious." She looked down and removed the cotton ball, and threw it in the trash. "Why are you here bugging me anyway?"

He sighed, "Just wanted to make sure everything went okay, and to get an update from the techies."

Max nodded, "Uh huh. You just wanted to make sure I did it." She hopped down off the table quickly, too quickly. While it was safe for her to give that much blood being an X5, it didn't mean her body was going to like it. The room spun and faded.

Alec saw her eyes go unfocused and his arms reached her before she had a chance to fall. His reflexes pulling her to his chest to hold her upright. Her head tilted backwards, her eyes closed. His hand went to the side of her face. "Max?" came the concerned voice from his mouth. Her lips parted slightly, her head lulled slightly as he looked down at her.

His fingers lightly caressed the side of her face, "Wake up Max." Her face turned slightly into his touch, and her eyes started to flutter open. "Yep, that's it. Open those eyes." Brown slowly found hazel, and started to focus. He smiled at her with a small part of relief. "Welcome back."

She looked up at him. Felt his arms around her, felt her arms pinned up against his chest, his face still so close to hers. His lips moving, forming words, that she couldn't quite hear. The movement of them mesmerizing her.

She wasn't moving or talking. But the one thing that worried him most was that she wasn't trying to get away or beat the crap out of him. "Max? Max are you okay?"

She saw his lips move again, and in her dreamlike state she unconsciously licked her lips at the tantalizing view.

He saw her tongue dart out and moisten her lips. He swallowed hard when he looked back at her eyes that were starring at his mouth. And he could barely form the sentence, "Can you hear me?"

Finally the words entered her brain, and she shook her head lightly trying to clear it. Then her mouth finally got out, "Alec?"

He nodded and smiled again, "Yeah…"

Then her bearings came back in full force, and she broke from his hold, trying to get away. Embarrassment fuelling her anger, "What the…" She stumbled backwards.

His arms caught her again. "Max… Calm down. You're just dizzy…"

She didn't want to hear it. She would rather be angry then admit she had fainted, and was feeling like she was going to again. "Let go…"

Alec held her tighter to him, "Do you really want me to let go, and have you fall completely on your ass?" He said quietly into her ear.

Max gave up the fight to pull away, which she had been greatly losing, due to many factors, some of which she did not want to admit. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine." She finally said in defeat.

He held her up until he could feel her own body start to support herself. "Better?" She nodded slightly. "How about we head over to the mess hall and get some food in you?" She nodded again in reluctance. "Are you going to let me help you get there, or will I get my ass kicked?"

"Just this once."

"Okay. Just this once." He let her pull herself away, but kept one arm wrapped around her side as they walked to the door and outside.

She stole a small glance at him, and then looked straight ahead again. He wasn't saying anything. He wasn't teasing her. It bothered her. But not as much as her reaction to everything back there. But the main thing… why was he being so nice? That question nagged at her, and then finally. She stopped walking and he almost tripped over his own feet. "Max are you…"

She stopped him raising a hand, "Why?"

He gave her a confused look. "Why what?" Then he thought he knew, "Max… seriously there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You gave quite a bit of blood…"

She shook her head, "No. I know that." She did know why it happened. It didn't mean she had to like it. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

She groaned and closed her eyes. Sometimes he was just impossible. But then another part of her brain told her that she wasn't being to clear herself. "Why are you being so… nice to me?"

He actually did a double take at her words. Nice to her? Was she serious? She thought he was being NICE, and… she wasn't going to try and kick his ass? "Why wouldn't I be?" Did she really think so low of him that doing something as simple as catching her when she fainted and then helping her get something to eat was to much to ask for from him?

She pulled away from his arm around her, glad that she didn't feel dizzy again, her strength already returning. "I know how you feel. You made it quite clear awhile ago. And being 'nice' isn't going to help to get me back out of Terminal City."

Alec closed his eyes, and used his now free hand to rub his forehead. "Max… I don't know how many times I have tried to tell you… you have it all wrong."

"I have it wrong? Wrong? What do I have wrong Alec? Huh? You pinned me up against the wall and basically told me you weren't going to take anymore shit from me. That you were the boss. Then you handed me the cure and that device telling me to basically get the hell out of your city and that no one wanted me here."

His eyes tightened and his heart clenched, his mind replaying all the events. And he could see how she would see it like that. But she didn't have the whole picture. But before he could say anything she continued. "But the whole comet and my runes fucked it all up. And now you are stuck with me."

Then Max laughed, "Wait. Nevermind. You don't need to answer my question. I answered it myself." And with that she started walking to the mess hall on her own.

He shook his head, and watched her walk away for a minute in a daze, then he quickly followed her. "What? What did you answer?"

She started walking faster, not looking at him as he kept to her side. "You're only being nice to protect the precious 'cure' in my body." Water started to fill her eyes and she moved even quicker, trying to get away from him.

Alec shook his head, as he stepped up the pace. His senses already making his heart drop from the knowledge that she was on the verge of tears. Not to mention the hurt her thoughts and words were causing him. "Max… please… listen to me."

She shook her head as she got to the door of the mess hall. His hand reached for her arm and turned her around. He saw the brown of her eyes swimming as she tried to look away. "The 'cure' was NOT the reason I was being 'nice' to you."

Max shook her head, "Oh really?" He nodded. "Honestly. It had NOTHING to do with it."

That wasn't fair. Of course it had SOMETHING to do with it. The whole human population could die if they didn't get this thing to work. If something happened to her. But that was not the MAIN reason, or even in the top ten. "Well… not… nothing…" he admitted. "But…"

She nodded, "See." Then wrenching her arm from his grasp she propelled herself into the mess hall. His shoulders slumped as he watched her form become hidden from his view as the door shut.

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"So wait… let me get this straight. The human…"

"Logan."

"As I said, the human." He let out a puff of smoke, "and the bitc… uhhh Max aren't… as you put it… 'getting busy'."

Joshua nodded.

"Interesting. Very interesting." Mole said as he took a bite of his food. He looked back over at Joshua. "And why is this exactly?"

"Well… Max said…" He was cut off by the slamming shut of the mess hall door. Both men turning towards the sudden commotion.

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She walked in and grabbed a tray slamming it down on the counter. Her hands came up quickly to wipe away the water from her eyes. Her hands took the tray again, her knuckles white as she straightened her shoulders. Her senses then kicked back into gear realizing she wasn't alone. She looked at the room's other occupants. Mole and Joshua looked back at her from their table, as did the eight or so other transgenics in there for breakfast.

Joshua was about ready to stand and she knew he was coming over to see if she was okay but she waved him off. She took a breath and started to move down the counter looking for what she wanted. She wasn't hungry. After her little discussion she actually felt sick. Here she was wondering why he was being nice to her. A sense of hope had actually run through her only to be stomped on.

She didn't get to choose what she wanted to eat though, because the mess hall door was flying open and shut with a hard bang. She whirled around to find him there. His eyes large, angry, and… determined. Her eyes briefly caught everyone stop eating again, "Alec… this isn't…"

"I don't care if this isn't the place!" He yelled then motioned to everyone, "If you don't want them to hear what I have to say, then STOP walking away from me before I can explain things!"

"ME walk away? I seem to remember you walking out of my apartment! And you walked out of Crash! And you…"

He threw up his arms, "But you weren't in the middle of trying to explain things. I NEVER walked out while you were talking."

She gripped the tray tighter in her hands. "Well maybe I just don't want to hear what you are going to say. Sometimes it's better not to hear the words!"

He actually wanted to take the tray away from her and beat her upside the head with it. "God MAX, you are so… sooo.."

"What?"

"FRUSTRATING!"

"ME?" She shook her head, "Me?" and then pointed at herself. "I'm the frustrating one? You're one to talk!"

Alec looked at the still quite room. All eyes still on them. He sighed, "Okay, that's it." He pulled the tray from her grasp setting it on the counter, and took her wrist with his other hand.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"We NEED to talk." He looked straight into her brown depths. "And not with all the other ears in this room." Her eyes darted around again and back. Her jaw tensed and she relented. She pulled her arm from his hand and walked out in front of him, the door closing behind both of them.

"Damn… We don't get to see the end of the show." Mole commented to no one in particular.

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Chapter 15 Coming Soon! – Please Review!!!