A Family Affair

Chapter 8: The Morning After



Sunlight shone in through the small openings in the curtains, making soft pools of light on the floor. Two figures lay curled on the bad. A sheet draped across their naked bodies.

Max stirred and slowly opened her eyes. When she was fully awake, Max was slightly confused to feel the mattress beneath her. When had they made it to the bed?

The hazy memories of last night started to clear. A little smirk appeared on Max's mouth as she remembered just how they made it from the bathroom to the bedroom. Sighing happily, Max leaned back into Alec's chest. His right arm was draped around her stomach.

A couple days after Rachel and Jesse had left, Max had gone into heat. That had been her first time with Alec and the experience was the complete opposite of how she usually felt afterwards. There was no regret, no shame, no guilt. There was only Alec, and how much he meant to her.

As Max tried to get up, Alec's arm tightened around her and he mumbled something incoherently. Max rubbed his arm and slowly eased out of his grip. Not that she wouldn't mind staying there but she had to get up, after last night Max really something to eat.

Climbing out of bed and stretching a bit, she moved over to the dresser, Max grabbed one of Alec's t-shirts and slipped it on.

Walking out into the livingroom, Max stopped to pick up Alec's jacket. How it had been thrown from the bathroom to right beside the couch she would never know. As she lifted it, something fell out of the pocket and hit the ground.

"Uh, now I have to-" Max stopped her rant about picking it up when she saw what it was. A small velvet box lay on the floor, "No way..."

Max picked up the box from the floor and leaned against the couch before slowly opening it. A silver platinum engagement ring sat in the centre. On it was a dark blue sapphire surrounded by two smaller diamonds. Max could only stare at it.

"I take it that you found it then?"

Alec's voice made Max jump and look towards the bedroom door. Alec's boxer clad body stood leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. A light smile on his face.

"Alec, wha...?"

Alec moved until he was standing beside her, and brushed a stray hair out of her face.

"Marry me, Max."

Max let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and looked up at Alec. His hazel eyes, serious, and never leaving hers. She broke eye contact first and looked down at the ring, tears prickled her eyes but she blinked them back. Looking back up at Alec she handed him the ring.

He took it and looked at her confused.

"Well?" she asked holding up her left hand, "aren't you gonna put it on?"

Alec laughed, his whole face lit up in that infamous grin of his. Taking the ring out of its box, he slipped it onto Max's finger. Dropping the box onto the couch, Alec lifted her up and carried her into the kitchen.

"You kind of scared me there for a minute, Max."

"Like I could say 'no' to you?"

"I seem to recall the first time we met..."

"Alec?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

^^^

"I thought transgenics didn't need sleep?"

"What?" Asha jumped awake after Logan poked her in the shoulder, "Oh God what time is it?" Asha sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes.

"11:15 in the morning."

"Sorry I fell asleep but those books you gave me were really boring. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I just thought I'd let you sleep."

"I don't need sleep."

"Asha, you're yawning as you say that," said Logan sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"Whatever, so you still have nothing?"

"Nothing. It's like White just disappeared of the face of the planet."

"Who knows? Maybe he did?"

"I don't think he'd give up this easily. Something's going on, has been ever since the kids left."

"And who knows what they know?"

"Yeah, exactly."

They both sighed, Logan leaned forward and their foreheads pressed together. Leaning in further their lips were almost touching when Asha pulled away and stood up quickly.

"Asha?"

"Logan."

"Asha what?"

"Look, Logan, you know how I feel about you but it just-it's just if something's gonna happen between us, I have to know that I'm not a consolation prize because you couldn't have Max. And I don't want you doing this just for Jesse either, I have to know."

"I-"

A beep went off and Asha looked down at her pager.

"S1W, I gotta go," she said, and turning around Asha was out the door before Logan could finish.

"-love you," said Logan to an empty apartment.

As he stared at the closed door the little voice inside his head was repeating over and over:

'She doesn't know.'

~*~*~*~

A/N: Max and Alec are engaged! Logan is having more girl troubles. And just to maybe clear things up Logan and Asha did not become a couple over the year, they got closer but not couple-wise like Max and Alec did. Hope you liked this chapter. Oh! And if you want to see a picture of the ring Alec got Max then you can e-mail me for it b/c it won't work here, it used to but not no more.

Cheers!

Vee