Blind Touch: Part Three
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything in relation to Dark Angel. No money is involved (story of my life).
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A/N: Sorry but I didn't credit the inspiration for the Fight Bitch Fight. I borrowed it from a scene from The Abyss.
When Max woke from her formless nightmares, thick, nearly tangible scents filled the room and made her feel safe. She wasn't alone either. Sun warmed earth and well-oiled leather on her right; she smiled as Alec's face appeared in her mind's eye. Slightly musty paper and acrylic based paint brushed against drywall and was accompanied by deep snoring: Joshua was asleep in the corner behind Alec.
Starch laden cloth and medicated stainless steel caught Max's attention next. Nothing came to mind until she turned into the scent and caught an undertone of lilac, Kara's favorite fragrance. Dix was burnt canvas and heated plastic. He was on the floor at Kara's feet his higher pitched snore an intermittent descant to Joshua's. To his right she could detect printer dust, fresh ink and heard a boot banging counterpoint to Dix. Dalton did have a habit of running in his sleep. In fact, she listened for a bit and realized everyone in the room was asleep. Their hearts beat slow and steady in rhythms unique to each individual.
More sensations became apparent as her body responded to commands. Tender spots on her upper arms ached and her cheeks felt swollen. Muscles in her ribcage gently jumped with occasional spasms. It hurt to breathe. Swallowing wasn't a picnic; her throat burned and she tasted blood. The tape on her wrists made the skin itch and she got the distinct impression that a long needle lay embedded underneath. She scratched tentatively and followed the plastic tubing as far up as she could reach.
The blankets smelled of cotton but they felt like sandpaper and her clothes, probably a polyester hospital gown chafed with the slightest movement. Nature began to scream and she wanted out of bed like no tomorrow. She threw the offensive fabric aside and gingerly sat up. There were guardrails on either side and Max snatched her hands back; the metal bars were numbingly cold. Instead of braving the rails, she opted to scoot up to the foot of the bed. Max thought she had an idea of how far it was to the ground. She dangled precariously on the edge and searched with her foot.
Then the world seemed to turn upside down. The bed began to tip and her sense of balance went to hell. She had a brief terrifying fall but was caught up in a pair of strong arms by her waist.
Suddenly Max was back in White's 'playhouse' with one of his guards, held roughly against his body. One hand gripped her painfully about her waist the other circled her throat forcing her head up to watch her best friend, Original Cindy die. She filled her lungs to scream and was assaulted by sandalwood soap and cotton. There was only one person who had that smell. If he was holding her she was safe.
"Biggs?" she winced as pain played hockey down her throat.
4 hours earlier
Kara hovered over Max to reassure her tired mind that she was merely sleeping and no longer in a comma. Her fever had finally broken and there was more color to her complexion. Several pairs of eyes watched her every move and her spine tightened under such scrutiny. "Why don't you guys get some rest? She'll be fine," she suggested. Their responses were predictable.
Alec pointedly ignored her. Joshua growled indicating that they couldn't get him to budge from his corner without violence. Dalton causally inspected his Browning .9mm, a subtle threat that he'd shoot first before being removed.
Dix went for the logical approach. "My absence here would put me in the presence of Mole for more than fifteen minutes. Command cannot take another altercation of Dix/Mole magnitude." With that said he planted himself on the floor and picked at his fingernails.
Kara seriously considered darting them all and having thing dragged back to their quarters but refrained when Biggs sauntered in with several trays full of food. There was more than one way to skin a litter full of cats, well three cats and one dog. She signaled him to follow her into the next room so he could set down the trays safely.
"What's going on in there? I could have cut the tension with a knife." He leaned against the vial refrigerator while Kara rummaged through her dry supplies closet. Shelves upon shelves of pill filled bottles lined the walls. She headed straight for the pallet at the back and grabbed two hand-sized packets. Biggs tried not to laugh but her exasperated expression was too cute. He waited until she shut the closet then spun her around into his embrace. Instead of struggling like he expected her to, she sighed heavily and accepted the comfort he was offering her.
"Damn…stubborn…own good," she mumbled into his shoulder. She wanted to stay there forever but there something she had to do first. Reluctantly, Kara pushed away and ripped open both packets. She gave one to Biggs and began to sprinkle the contents onto the food, particularly the slices of spiced meat. Biggs followed her example and soon all the trays were dusted with fine white powder that absorbed rapidly.
"Vitamins," she explained on the way back to the others with the food.
Biggs had his doubts but remained silent as the others dug in. Sure enough one by one they fell asleep only minutes after finishing off every morsel on their plate. Suddenly his stomach no longer seemed important. He fixed Kara with an accusatory stare. "Vitamins my transgenic ass," he growled at her playfully.
Valiantly she tried not to smile and widened her eyes. She batted her lashes, the perfect picture of innocence. "Well it has vitamins in it."
That's what he thought. Biggs pushed his untouched tray aside and strapped Dalton's gun belt to his waist. Next watch was his anyway. He kissed Kara's forehead and told her he'd return to check up on them.
An hour later he found Kara asleep at her worktable head pillowed on her left arm. She must have forgotten about the 'vitamin' laced food and taken a few bites from his tray. He chuckled and eased her onto the table so she could lie down more comfortably. He distributed extra blankets and pillows all around and returned to his rounds.
Present
And they were still asleep when he returned and got a pleasant unexpected surprise. Max was awake and no one around her noticed. They were still out cold. His heart leapt to his throat and before he realized he had moved, Biggs had Max in his arms before she fell to the floor. She called out his name questioningly and it rasped but it was music to his ears.
"Yeah Max it's me," he reassured her quickly when she tensed for a fraction of a second.
At this point she didn't care if it was wasn't dignified. If she didn't get to the bathroom soon, things were going to get real messy. "Bathroom, now!" she demanded and crossed her legs tightly to emphasize her urgency.
Where was a female when he needed one? Biggs groan inwardly and knew that the others would be waking soon. He would catch hell when he returned with Max but her need was greater than his pride. Quickly he undid her IV and blurred to the bathroom.
Back in Max's room the others indeed began to stir. Kara, who received a lesser dose, was the first to rise. She glared at the half-full food tray and chastised her absentmindedness. Carefully she climbed off the worktable and managed to stand upright without tripping on the boys underfoot. During their rest, Dix and Dalton became tangled in each other's blankets and now were struggling to make heads or tails out of it.
"Where's Max?" Alec's panicked question stilled all movement. "Josh?"
Joshua jumped to his feet nose stuck in the air and sniffed deeply. He became uncharacteristically dizzy and stumbled backwards. His nails raked the walls as he scrambled to remain upright but he'd moved too fast too soon after being sedated. "Head not feel right," he whimpered from the floor.
Cautiously Alec rolled out of his cot. Stars appeared on the outer edges of his vision momentarily. He shut his eyes and pinged Micah on his two-way while he waited for his head to clear.
"Standing by," Micah's voice sounded garbled like he was in a wind tunnel.
He must still be conducting repairs on the roof of the medical building. In that case, it meant that Lexan and another set of twins, Jaxel and Mayne, were with him. Perfect. When he was certain that his feet would remain under him, Alec opened his eyes and made for the exit. "Report to the isolation ward and bring your unit with you," he ordered. An invisible switch flipped and Alec was X5-494 again. It was better than falling apart; emotions weren't an option.
On the other end of the connection Micah heard the unmistakable tone in Alec's voice. "Sir!" he spat out automatically. The domino affect rippled outward and turned everyone it touched back into Manticore super soldiers. Like a well-oiled machine they silently carried out orders and soon stood ramrod straight, single-file in front of Alec.
Dix and Dalton fell into line smoothing their sleep-tousled hair with a few strokes of their fingers. Their clothes took a little longer to correct but they managed under Alec's baleful gaze. Any second longer and they had a feeling that the terms restriction and disciplinary action would be their new names.
Kara watched Alec warily as he sent them off in two-by-two teams. She wasn't so sure and all out search party should be initiated. Blind and very weak, Max shouldn't have gotten far. She tried to tell him but was cut off. Right now, to Alec's eyes she was merely a medic who had no business questioning field tactics.
Twenty minutes passed by and the teams began to check in.
"Tack One, levels five and six secure. No contact." Lexan and Micah took the lift to the roof.
Dix swept through the last room of the main infirmary checking under empty beds. He remembered to check the storage closet but turned up nothing. He signaled Dalton with a hand slicing the air in front of his throat. Dalton nodded and called it in. "Tack Two, levels three and four secure. No contact."
"Tack Three, levels one and two secure. No contact." Mayne and Jaxel joined the other two teams at the rendezvous point on the roof.
X5-494 acknowledged them indifferently but the Manticore persona fell away like a duck shedding water. Alec ground his teeth the muscles in his cheek danced with his effort not to lose it completely. He was about to blur meet them when his two-way came to life once more.
"Sir, contact! She's on the roof. Biggs is with her," Lexan's hushed voice sounded surprised but seemed more like himself instead of X5-224.
"Stand down," Alec replied so relieved he swayed on his feet. He caught Kara's amused expression and pointed the antenna of his two-way at her. "Not a word, not a single peep. Understand?" he warned.
Up on the roof sweat dripped down Biggs's spine and he wondered how many different ways Alec was going to kill him. He couldn't believe he let Max talk him into taking her up here. After the bathroom he had fully intended on returning her to her room. Damn him for being weak when it came to vulnerable women especially since the woman in question was Max. She was never vulnerable. It made him want to protect her but it hadn't dawned on him that it would also gave her the power to override his sense of self preservation.
The six shadowy figures that had them surrounded fell back and he relaxed, slightly. He settled Max more securely against his back. Her slight weight didn't bother him but it had been a long time since he'd piggybacked anyone. Max sighed and laid her head on his shoulder facing away from him. She was silent for so long, Biggs thought she was asleep. He turned into the setting sun and realized that his shoulder was soaked through.
"Tell me what you see," Max asked softly her throat closing from more than just soreness. She listened to his description of the sky: an explosion of pinks, oranges painted against a faded blue canvass. Gentle heat caressed her skin and she pictured the sun sinking below the horizon. The air suddenly cooled and Max knew, just as Biggs began to tell her, that the sun was gone. Funny, so were her tears.
"There are new street lights around Terminal City now. Alec insisted…" Biggs held his breath and Max lifted her head. His heartbeat thundered and drowned her overly sensitive ears. What was he so scared of? She scented someone on the wind.
"Sir!" Biggs snapped to attention. If it weren't for Max in his arms, he would have saluted.
"At ease 510," Alec ordered sternly. He kept a straight face but inside he was dying of laughter: payback time for giving him a heart attack.
Biggs' eyes bugged noticeably at the mention of his designation. Shit! '510' not 'Biggs'; Blue Lady help me, he prayed. Apparently she was listening today and must have relayed his silent cry for help to Max.
She used his shoulders for balance and hiked up higher. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her head tip to one side, like a curious cat she was trying to figure out where the new voice was coming from. The last of her tears dripped off her chin and her brow wrinkled with a mixture of concentration and confusion.
"Alec?" His scent intensified and she was certain it was he. "Alec!" she cried joyously and leaned forward arms outstretched. It had its intended affect.
All thoughts of torturing Biggs went sideways. Alec was taken aback by her tears and scrambled to meet her searching hands. He lifted her off Biggs and she immediately explored his face and hair with urgent strokes of her fingers. She started to shiver from exposure to the new night air. "Time to take you back," he said.
Max cuddled closer to his warmth and shook her head. "No," she flatly refused. "Don't take me back there yet. I feel so alive up here."
With Alec distracted Biggs thought it best to retreat and came face to face with Kara. She didn't look pleased.
"I suppose there is a perfectly rational explanation here?" She folded her arms across her chest.
"Yeah man, we were on definitive search and rescue, totally zoned back to mindless designations for nothing. What gives?" Jaxel complained and his brother behind him stared. It wasn't a friendly look.
Micah elbowed Lexan and winked. "And why is it that you ain't singing out of the wrong side of your face? Alec was so pissed that he shut down and 494 was back in full scary glory."
Joshua pushed forward and Biggs cringed. He could handle the hot-potato round of twenty questions but Joshua usually became very physical when angry and he wasn't up for a fight with the transhuman. To his relief, all Joshua did was wave Max's blanket and a book under Biggs' nose. "Max awake. Story time."
While they interrogated Biggs, Alec sat down and placed Max in between his legs, back to him, so she could face outward. He couldn't deny her anything. It wasn't the Space Needle but he knew she always went for high places, was always the happiest in high places.
She sank into the crook of his arm and tilted her head back. Alec's heart hurt when he realized what she was trying to do. He cleared his throat and was relieved his voice came out steady and strong. "Orion is out," he said and she suddenly stiffened. Great going Alec he chided.
"Don't!" she pleaded.
It took a few seconds for Alec to realize she wasn't talking to him. Somehow Max knew that Biggs was leaving with Kara and company. He gestured for him, in fact all of them to come out and join them. Joshua draped the blanket gingerly on Max; he was afraid he'd hurt her. Alec tucked her in and open the book Joshua set in her lap before he plopped down beside them. The others ranged in a lose circle in front of Max. There will be time for questions and explanations later. "Once upon a time…"
