Disclaimer: All the characters belong to the producers from Dark Angel, while the song "Iris" belongs to the Goo Goo Dolls.

Spoilers: Post "Freak Nation".

Summary: Alec gets a near-death experience, and Max confesses her true feelings. M/A. It contains the song "Iris". I'm not really good at summaries...so just READ IT!!!

A/N: This fic was created courtesy of the song "Iris." I just loved the lyrics, so I decided making a fic… It's M/A of course, so read and enjoy!!! Oh and if you hadn't heard of the song yet, go, find it, and listen to it! I order you to!

Iris

It was another normal day in Terminal City, and it went by quickly. It wasn't long until night had fallen once again, bathing the land in pitch-black darkness. The sky was a canvas of black paint, and not a single star dotted the dim sky. Rain was pouring mercilessly onto the roofs of their shelter, pelting those who were unfortunate to be outside in heavy, painful drops.

"I hate the rain," Alec murmured under his breath as his motorcycle sped through the slick, empty streets of Seattle. It was the middle of the night, and he returning to Terminal City after his successful heist. There was not a doubt that it was going to go sideways. After all, this single heist was planned for weeks. And the arrangement was utterly flawless.

But when you're a transgenic, trouble was never far behind.

Thunder exploded loudly from above him as lightning simultaneously flashed, igniting the dark sky for a brief moment. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and Alec shivered. Not from the cold – but from something else. His enhanced senses told him that something was wrong. He urged his bike to go faster. He turned sharply around a corner and was greeted by a barricade of Familiars.

"Shit," he cursed through gritted teeth. There was no way out this time. All of them were heavily armed, and if he even considered reversing, he would end up with a bullet right through his back. "No way in hell." He spat out and speeded towards the human blockade. Using his momentum and all the skill he possessed, he jumped his bike over the Familiars at a breathtaking height.

That was when all hell broke loose.

…

"Max!" Dix came running into the Command Center, were she was busying herself with a pile of paperwork regarding the supplies Terminal City greatly needed. She looked up from her work to watch the panicked transhuman dart towards her, his pale face a mixture of fear and anxiety.

"Dix," Max steadied his shoulders as he panted, taking in much-needed oxygen. He seemed to have ran all the way here from --- wherever he came from. "What's wrong?" "It's Alec," he breathed. "He's been captured." Max's blood ran cold. "What?" "He was on his way here, when White and his men caught up with him." Her heart started to beat wildly. And she knew why she felt so panicked. For the past year, she and Alec had worked together to run the toxic-waste dump that was Transgenic Central. For the past year, she and Alec had acquired a certain bond that could mysteriously be called as friendship. Or perhaps something more…

"Where? Where is he?" she asked, her voice coming out shrill with dread.

"The abandoned docks…" Dix didn't get to finish his sentence. Max was already out the door. … Alec's eyes snapped open. And he found himself in a dilapidated room that was lined with empty wooden and metal crates. The smell of blood was fresh in the air, and he wondered where it was coming from. It didn't take him long to find out that it was coming from him.

"Welcome back 494," a cold, cynical voice said from behind him. Alec tried to turn around, but found that he couldn't. He was tightly strapped onto a metal chair. Chained to be exact. White was standing a few feet away from him, scrutinizing him with ruthless eyes. "Now, you're probably wondering why you're here."

"Actually, I'm wondering why you're wearing that suit. It does nothing for your complexion." Alec drawled lazily, as he tugged helplessly on the steel chains. His actions were futile.

White's mouth formed into a mirthless smile. A smile that Alec had grown to hate. It was the kind of smile that was like maple syrup spilled on shattered glass. "You're bait, 494. Since we all know how much that 452 bitch loves to save the day, it won't be long until she'd swoop in to rescue your unworthy ass."

Alec spat blood at him.

White's smile only broadened. "Unfortunately for her, by the time she gets here, you'd be nothing but a pile of rotting flesh." His steel-gray eyes flashed dangerously as he pulled out an object from his business suit.

At first, he thought that it was going to be a gun – something that would've relieved him. A bullet to the head would be a nice, clean death. But then, White had always been a sucker for the slow, painful ones. It was a syringe.

"I'll make sure that you suffer first." White smirked smugly and jammed the syringe onto Alec's upper arm.

…

Max reached the warehouse that was parked by a good many army jeeps in record time. Behind her, she could hear her back-up team approaching. But she didn't have time to wait. Alec's life could be hanging at a single thread right now. A very fine thread.

She stormed in the warehouse and pounced onto the first of her attackers. A few seconds later, she was joined by Mole, three X5s, and a furious Joshua. It was strange, but Joshua always had this thing for Alec. The two of them shared a camaraderie unlike any other, and it warmed Max to know how many people's lives Alec had wormed his way into.

She cut through the fight like a newly-sharpened knife, leaving a great number of Familiar lying lifeless on the ground behind her. She left the rest out for her team to take out, and she continued her search for the one person that may be able to replace the spot that Logan once took. She kicked open the doors to a number of rooms and found them vacant. She reached the last one down the corridor and kicked it open.

There she found White climbing out of the window, and onto a Blackhawk chopper. She blurred towards him, chocolate-brown eyes burning with anger. But she was too late. White had already boarded the helicopter. He probably found out that there was no chance of him taking out a group of hate-fueled transgenics and had escaped the last chance he got.

"Bye, bye, bitch." White said, blowing her a kiss before disappearing into the raining sky. Max let loose a string of obscenities before remembering her objective. She spun around to look for Alec.

What she saw made her heart break.

And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven
That I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

"Alec!" she yelled towards the slumping figure. He was struggling to regain consciousness. But whatever drug that White had injected into his system was taking effect, and he was slowly losing perception.

"Max?" he asked, in a disbelieving voice as his eyelids started to droop. "I lo--"

And his whole world went black.

"Alec?" Max yelled, panicked. Ice gripped her heart as she undid the chains with trembling fingers. "Alec! Don't give up on me, please. Stay with me, Alec! Dammit Alec, I love you!" she was reaching shatter-point, and she could no longer restrain the tears that started to fall down her cheeks. "Alec please…" she choked futilely as she gathered his body into her arms, rocking him slowly. Her hands groped around for his wrist, and her hope flickered back on when she felt a weak, but still beating pulse.

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

"Thank you," she murmured into his hair before calling out for assistance.

…

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

Max watched him with tear-stained eyes as he laid on the make-shift hospital bed in TC's Med Bay. His chest rose up in down in a steady motion. The medics in TC were able to suck out the drugs that was injected into him, and they told Max that he would be fine after a few days of recuperating.

He looks so innocent when he sleeps. She thought, tilting her head to one side to study him closely. From his tousled dark blonde head, to his long dark lashes. He looked like an angel. This was the only time that his emotionless mask was taken away from him. He was no longer covered in that 'happy-go-lucky' pretense that everyone seemed to fall for. Everyone but her.

"I love you," she murmured, taking his hand in hers, and squeezing it. A tear streamed down her face. It still seemed surreal to her that she almost lost Alec. If they had arrived a minute sooner, they might've lost him. Maybe you do have nine lives. She thought with a small grin. And that's something that I'm hugely grateful for.

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive

"Max?" His questioning voice shook her out of her reverie. He had awakened and he was smiling at her. Not in that cocky, smug way of his. But a genuine smile. A smile that didn't often appear. But when it did, it made everyone that was around him soften. "Did you just say that you loved me?" His hazel-green eyes glimmered with curiosity and unadulterated sincerity.

Max ducked her head to hide the blush that crept over her caramel cheeks. "Yes." She said, truthfully, refusing to meet his gaze. It was then that she felt two weak fingers push her chin up. And she found herself staring straight into his eyes.

"You saved my life." He whispered. His eyes were wet with unshed tears. And Max's voice caught in her throat, as her tears started to once again establish their flow. "And that's about the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me…Thank you."

"You're welcome…"

"And Max?"

"Yes?"

"I love you too."

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

THE END

A/N: Alright, tell me what you think. Was it good? Was it bad? Was it absolutely terrible? Please Review. :-) Not getting any makes me feel as if I wasted time making the fic. So please be good and review!!!