Rating: PG

Genre: Drama / Angst / Romance

Pairing: M/A

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel , it owns me. ;)

Summary: How important are memories? Max and Alec face a new challenge in their changing relationship. Can an unfortunate accident bring them closer together? ...And now jealousy; a catalyst for trouble.

Lethe

Episode 3: Risk Running

Under the pretence of going purely to go collect her things Max had begun to spend every night she needed sleep at Alec's. Her own apartment at TC became rather neglected but it had been since the accident so Max didn't really think about it. With Logan still out side Terminal City, this time apart meant Max had no one to answer to about her whereabouts. After a week she didn't even need to make the excuse, they had established an understanding. Sometimes she would even be there before him and she would make herself at home until he came off duty. She had never been much of sleeper, not just because of her shark DNA but having to be alert through all the years she spent running from Manticore she learnt to sleep with one eye open. The smallest sound could have woken her, yet with Alec somehow she relaxed completely, she knew she was completely safe with him and so slept like a baby.

Things had been patched over with Logan at least a temporary truce had been put in place and he was already back at making plans for them to move back in with each other. Max felt confused, she thought she should be happy, surely this is what she wanted. But somehow she wasn't excited, she was terrified. Her feelings had been shifting around her for some time now and she couldn't tell where these new feelings were coming from. She wanted to get away from these feelings of being trapped. They were like the feelings she had whilst on the run, like there was danger just around the corner but she couldn't see it. She wanted something more, she wanted something else. Logan didn't get it, he didn't really listen and didn't understand what she needed ... but would Alec? She was confused .

A lot had happened to Max and Logan and they always seemed to get through it one way or another so when he asked her to this party she saw it as a perfect opportunity to make or break their relationship. If they could work away from all the pressures then there was still hope the only problem was... this party sucked big time.

Max walked out on to the balcony and sighed with relief when she found herself alone. If she had to suck up to one more posh, stuffy-noses bureaucrat she was going to vomit. Then Logan spends the whole time trying to make her sound like someone she wasn't, so that she would fit in. When did it become such a bad thing to be her? All the way down here he was giving her instructions, do this, don't do that. If it was going to be such a chore having her there, why invite her in the first place? The music was uninspiring, the people way too rigid and the conversation far too formal and business orientated. She had been trying hard, for Logan's sake, but the whole time he'd stand there over her shoulder as if he expected her to slip up and that he'd have to intervene. She took a deep breath of the cool night air to try and calm herself as she closed her eyes enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair. She stepped to the side hiding herself from view, maybe she could take a break for a while before someone came looking for her.

"Having fun?" A voice asked. Max stepped forward and looked around trying to locate it's origin. That voice was very familiar. Stepping to the edge of the balcony and leaning over the rails she looked down at the garden below and there he was. Standing below lit by the moon and the pool lights.

"Alec? What are you doing here? and what are you wearing?" Alec smiled and looked down at his acquired attire.

"It's the security uniform, not bad huh?" Max withheld the urge to tell him that he could make anything look good and the fact that she was never happier to see him, compared to the so called party she was supposed to be at, he was Disneyland.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed at him again as he approached.

"I was bored so, knowing you are always at the centre of the action, I went over to see you. Imagine my surprise when I find out Logan had swept you away to this little shindig."

"So you thought you'd come crash the party as a security guard?" Max scoffed incredulously.

"No I thought I might 'borrow' a security guard uniform, then maybe 'borrow' something from that fat safe inside, or 'borrow' something from their silver cabinet, or..."

"You came here to steal!" Alec looked up into her outraged face. Ok so his cover story was only half true, but somehow he doubted she wanted to hear how he just couldn't stay away from her, how the accident had if anything just strengthen this feeling, how he was curious to see what Logan offered that he couldn't. Hell no.

"You don't..." suddenly the conversation was broken off as the door behind Max opened and Alec ducked out of sight. Logan sauntered out and trained his most charming smile on Max who smiled awkwardly.

"There you are, I've been looking for you."

"Oh." Max tried to look innocent, "I was just catching some fresh air."

"Yes it is nice out here." They lapsed into a silence and Max found herself as eager for Logan to leave as Alec must have been. "Well dinner will be served soon..."

"Great! um, come get me when it's ready, k." Logan nodded but said nothing, trying to hide his disappointment then turned and left her alone again. Max sighed in relief and looked over the balcony again for Alec.

"Alec?" she whispered but there was no reply "Alec?"

"Yeah." Max jumped nearly three feet in the air as she heard his voice behind her. Looking round she saw that he was climbing up the ivy and on to the balcony. She moved to where he was checking no one was looking.

"Alec you can't..."

"Steal for the Cales? well actually I can even by your twisted double standards, because you see I've done my homework and it turns out Logie's family are into just about everything from hover-drones to one too many French maids in your bedroom if you catch my drift." Alec added leaning in conspiratorially and wiggling his eyebrows.

"You know what I mean." She whispered dangerously at him.

"Aww come on Max you're just jealous because I've got me a fun evening planned and you..." Alec enjoyed stretching his words out and bidding his time just to tease her that little bit more, "you have to stay in there and pretend you enjoy the company of every frigid stuffy nosed wife and every greasy old crone that Logan forces upon you." Max glared at him but he had a point, oh how she would love to drop into Christopher Cale's office and relieve him of his small fortune then wave it in his face the next time he felt it necessary to boast about his 'impregnable fortress'. Max tensed when she heard someone brush against the closed doors behind her. Alec took that moment to study her as she looked towards the door in dread. She really was having a bad time, it just wasn't her scene and although she may be able to fool Logan and 70 or 80 members of his family and their associates, she couldn't fool him.

"Or maybe we could make a compromise." Max narrowed her eyes at him, Alec just smiled innocently "How about I leave the silver where it is and just go for the good stuff leaving me time to keep you ... entertained?" The offer hung in the air for a millisecond before Max automatically sneered at it.

"Like I need your company." she huffed

"Fine, I'll be leaving then."

"Wait" Max stepped towards him quickly. She groaned inwardly, she must sound so pathetic she thought and, judging by the smirk he was now sporting, Alec was rather enjoying his moment of power. Alec stepped over the stone barrier and leaned against it casually now fully upon the balcony.

"I've been inside, got details of the security systems from the man himself." She said trying to sound offhanded. Alec narrowed his eyes at her and smirked.

"Is that right?"

"It seems the one big problem with his secret security system is him telling everyone it's there." Max rolled her eyes at the sheer stupidity of the man and Alec chuckled evilly.

"Lucky for us."

"Us?" Max quipped looking over at him in what she meant to be disapproval but she couldn't hide the hopeful glint in her eyes. Alec stepped closer and observed her in that sexy calculating way he sometimes did and whispered suggestively.

"Yeah, if your interested." Although the offer was for a share in the fun and the rewards, it somehow seemed to suggest more. He carefully reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Every fibre of Max's being tingled at the promise sat behind his mischievous eyes. When she grinned back Alec knew he had her.

"He has a decoy safe in the west wing, " she began "Which is wired from floor to ceiling and uses a PAN card as the only means of access, the only other way in there without the master key is to trip the circuit breaker but that automatically puts the whole place on lock down ."

"So no invitation, no entry."

"Right. The actual safe is underground."

"Yeah there's quite a tunnel network down there according to the building blueprints, supposed to have been filled in." Alec chewed on the end of his thumb as he recalled in perfect detail the blueprints he had browsed quickly earlier.

"He says the only way in is through a secret door in the back of his decoy safe, but there's no way they would have been able to install safe using that tiny door."

"So time to check out the 'filled in' tunnel entrances." Alec made moves to leave swinging his legs over the balcony.

"What about me?"

"You keep an eye out on the inside I'll check out here seeing as you're meant to be here and I'm not, I'll be back for you, nice dress by the way." He added casually as he dropped to the garden bellow and disappeared into the night.

A/N: Hi! Yes it's me back from the dead. I've decided to get my act together and do some more writing while I have the chance. I can't promise quick updates but I'll try. Soooo what do you think? Do you like where this is going? Let me know. xxx