A/N: Okay, there's a tiny little bit about Alec's thoughts in here but I like to keep his thoughts mostly mysterious.  *grins* what can I say?  Mysterious Alec is still hot.

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Chapter twenty-six: Alone In The Dark

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Max: I think I'll call you Alec, as in Smart Alec.

Alec: I can live with that.

Max: Good, cuz my second choice was Dick.

-Max and Alec (Designate This)

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'Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in

Don't be surprised if I collapse down at your feet again

I don't want to run away from this

I know that I just don't need this'

-Lifehouse (Somewhere In Between)

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"Erin?" Alec pushed through the stairwell door.  Erin didn't stop her pacing or look up.  'Okay, Alec' Alec told himself as he walked towards her.  'You can do this.  Just act natural.  It's just Erin, nothing to be nervous about.  You see her everyday.'  "Erin?" he stepped in her path and Erin was forced to look up at him.  He could immediately tell she was upset.

"I'm not doing it" she started pacing in another direction.  "I know it would tell us why I know this stuff, and why White wants me, but I can't do it."

Alec sat down on the couch, forcing himself to focus on the situation and carefully keeping his nervousness hidden.

"But if they do go in my head, what would they look for?  They don't even know!  They could see all sorts of stuff that the rest of the world doesn't know about!  Things that should never see the light of day!  Then there's the stuff that only you know about and I really don't want them to know about that.  It's bad enough that they know summat bad happened in my past- they give me these pitying looks-"

"They don't pity you" Alec interrupted her rant.

"And Manticore created flyin' pigs!" Erin glared ahead of her as she continued to pace.

"Well, actually-" Alec began with a grin and Erin threw herself onto the couch beside him.

"I hate my life! Every time I think something's going great, something always messes it up!" She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down, her head in her hands.

"You don't have to do it, Erin.  You know Max won't force you into anything you don't wanna do."

Erin lifted her head to look at him, her face hopeful "Really?"

"Really, she saves all that for me."  Alec watched her shoulders slump as she relaxed.  "We are talkin' about those Psy-Ops guys, right?"

Erin rolled her eyes "Yes, we're talkin' about the Psy-Ops guys."

"Good" Alec relaxed for a fraction of a second before tensing up again.

"Alec, what's wrong?" Erin noticed Alec's back straighten.

"Nothing" he replied with a grin.

Erin continued to stare and she saw Alec visibly swallow.  He stood up with a resigned sigh.  Whatever it was, it was making Alec extremely uncomfortable.  She smiled reassuringly at him as he turned to look at her.

'Why the hell are you nervous?' Alec didn't know what was wrong with him.  'Pull it together, soldier!' he ordered himself and his back immediately straightened.  He could feel her eyes on him as he began to pace.  Their roles had been reversed.

Erin didn't move as she continued to watch him, a curious look in her eyes.  She knew that Alec would tell her what was wrong when he was ready to tell her.  Why did she have to know him so well?

Alec stared at Erin and he had to ask.  If he didn't it would bug him until he went crazy and that was not good.  "Erin" he started quietly then stopped.  He swallowed hard.  Where was his confidence now?  He began again "Erin, do you like me?"

There, he'd said it.  He steeled himself for her silent laughter and turned to look at Erin.  She was looking at him in surprise.

"Of course I like you!  You're one of my best friends!"

Why did she have to be so like him?  "I mean, do you LIKE me, as more than a friend?"  Now he'd got this out in the open, he couldn't take his eyes off of her, wanting to see her reaction.

"Oh" Erin looked away, a frown on her face.  She bit her lip as she supposedly thought about the question.

Alec forced himself not to look at her lips.  Since when had he paid so much attention to her actions?  'Since she got here you dumb ass!' a voice stated in his head.  Since when had that voice started to sound like Max?

"Well… you're hot and everything" Erin's reply was so like his own.  "Of course I like you" she shrugged matter-of-factly and Alec felt his stomach drop.  Okay, that part wasn't like his own.  Erin liked him.

"No girl with eyes could say otherwise" Erin's face was calm as if this were a normal conversation "but so are Zack, Krit, Zane and Tawney.  You were designed that way.  But, just because you're hot, doesn't mean I'm gonna turn to mush at ya feet.  You're my friend and I wouldn't do anything to ruin our friendship."

Alec felt his stomach tighten now and he felt as if he'd been hit in the stomach.

Erin stood up and moved to stand in front of him, her eyes scanning his face for some kind of emotion.

Alec kept his face blank as she looked at him "Why? Do you like me?"

Her eyes met his and Alec felt something that he hadn't felt in a while.  'She has beautiful eyes' he realised as he stared at her.  He remembered her question.  Did he like her?  His gaze fell to her lips and he found himself repeating the question again.  Did he like her?  He swallowed again and opened his mouth to reply.

"Alec!" Josh's voice interrupted him and snapped him put of whatever daze he'd been in.

He turned to see Joshua walking towards him "Little fella wants you to meet someone.  Her sister came back and brought a little Max." 

"Huh? Okay Josh, thanks" Alec turned to give Erin a grin before walking to the door.  "Can't keep her majesty waiting."

Erin wanted to slap herself for being so disappointed.  He was gonna give her an answer but like the devil he was, he managed to get out of it.

"Erin?" Josh's voice snapped Erin out of her thoughts.

"Yeah Josh?" she turned to look at him.

He smiled knowingly and blurted out "Erin lonely."

"I'm fine" Erin smiled as he walked up to her.

"Erin hides it from herself but Josh can see.  Erin sad." He took her hand and led her to the couch.  They sat down, Josh watching Erin and Erin watching nothing in particular.  "Erin scared of her past too."

Erin's head snapped round and she looked at him.  "Why would I be scared of my past?"

"It's dark like ours.  Pain, sadness.  I can see it.  You lost people."

"Yeah, I've lost people" Erin turned away again.

"Like Alec?" Joshua watched as Erin sighed.

"No Josh, not like Alec.  I've lost family."

"And now you're on you own" Joshua said sadly.

"What's left of my family's back home in England."

"But you're not alone" Josh smiled at her questioning look "you have friends here- Joshua, Max, Alec and the others.  We have dark past too.  We're not in the dark anymore and neither is Erin.  Erin isn't alone."

'But I am' Erin thought sadly as she smiled at Josh 'thanks to my lies, I am on my own.'

Next Chapter: New Hope

The truth hit Max so hard that if she'd been standing up, she'd have fainted.  She was attracted to him.  This was wrong, so, so wrong…. She was in trouble.

A/N:  Sorry, I can't help being so evil.  I'm one of those people who can't write anything like this without making it last for AGES.

Marty:  Logan will be back in a couple of chapters but it's not like the story's about him is it?  Oh, and you know what I said would happen in less than 10 chapters?  It actually is in ten chapters' time- exactly, and I already have it written.  Sorry about the lack of Sketchy action dude.

Dominique: Glad that you like the fic.  Get ready for some more Alec. 

Elin:  I TOLD you, you'll have to wait and see.  Erin will talk at some point in the story and they WILL hear her.  I'm just not gonna tell you when it's gonna happen. *grins* I'm SO evil.

Messymissy: Erin will find a way around the whole problem.  Remember, she puts on a convincing act, so if she wants them to know something that she knows, she'll tell them in a way that makes it seem like she's remembering it.  Did that make any sense?

Moonlight: If she tells Alec what's going on, Alec would have no choice but to tell Max.  Then, there's also the fact that he wouldn't believe her.