Chapter 4

Quinn switched on the light in the room, and Max's jaw dropped in surprise as her eyes adjusted to the change. "You really weren't kidding about that mess out there not being yours!" she said, surveying the immaculate condition of Quinn's bedroom. "You wanna come over and clean up my place?" She gave a light chuckle as Quinn shrugged, smiling as he plopped down on the neatly made bed.

"I already play 'Mommy' to those two, so thank you, no." Quinn leaned back, linking his hands together and resting his head upon them.

Max stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She bit her lip, looking out from lowered lids at Quinn. I am really not looking forward to this talk.

Quinn saw how uncomfortable she was. He wanted to erase the events of the evening and rewind back to the party. He would give anything to take back the actions that had spiraled out of control, landing them in a heap on the floor with an audience no less.

"Max, about before...I'm sorry."

Max closed her eyes as she replayed in her mind the events that had led up to seeing that look of...whatever it was...on Alec's face.

"Quinn, it's not your fault, I- " she broke off, lowering her head as she sighed. "It was equally my fault, I mean..." Max shook her head, frustrated at how inarticulate she had become.

"I was having fun, a little out of line, I'll admit, but tonight was fun," she rolled her eyes as she added, "well, up until the part where Alec and Lianna walked in."

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to shake away the hurt that she'd felt when they'd walked in together. I can only imagine what's going on in there right now. No! No imagining!

"Seeing them together hurt, didn't it?" he said softly, rolling onto his side and propping his head up on one hand. Catching the look that flashed in her eyes, he pulled himself to a sitting position and patted the space beside him. "C'mere."

Damn, I'm obvious, she thought as she sat down on the bed.

"No." Liar. "What would make you think that? I just...didn't want them to get the wrong impression. You know, about us?" As she watched Quinn, the doubt was evident in his every feature. Yeah, really obvious.

Riiiiight. Liar. "Wrong impression? When we left this evening I was under the impression you wanted me. Even if just for tonight. Why else would you come home with me?"

Quinn's eyes never left her face, his face now a complete mask. She did want me. I could smell it. Max was the queen of denial. She'd been completely willing to come home with him. He knew it and she knew he knew it.

There's that look we've all learned to wear and loathe, she thought as she returned Quinn's blank gaze. "I - I did. But I - " She growled low in frustration. Why do men always have to make things so difficult?

"It's been a while since...since I've had that kind of contact with anyone. And hell, we're all designed to be perfect, and you're no exception." Exceptional is more like it, she mused with a slight grin. "I'm just," she paused looking for the right word, "really confused right now."

He still retained his emotionless expression, but his eyes were thoughtful.

"Max, we're friends, right?" She nodded. "And you know I'd do anything for you, right?" She nodded again. "And friends are honest with each other? Up front with each other?" Another nod. "Good, so can we stop with all the bullshit?"

Max's eyes widened at the unexpected bluntness of his words, and stiffened. "What the hell do you mean by that?" She shifted her position on the bed, moving slightly further away from Quinn's inquisitive glare. Does he mean the bullshit about Alec and Lianna, or my bullshit front right now? She sighed as she realized how much she kept inside, how much she always hid from everyone. Even myself.

Quinn saw a myriad of emotions flash in her eyes. Maybe she'll actually admit it. She looks...lost.

"All of it, Max. We both know why you came home with me. It's the same reason you felt guilty." Before she could retort he stopped her with a violent shake of his head. "Yes, guilty. For being caught in such a compromising position - with me."

Max furrowed her brow and let herself fall back onto the bed in agitation. "Really now? Care to enlighten me?" she retorted angrily.

"This is getting really old, really fast," Quinn replied in exasperation.

She glanced over in his direction and saw his not-taking-any-more-of-your-crap expression. Sighing in defeat, she capitulated. "Yeah, okay, so fine. You're right. Happy? You're right."

Quinn merely looked at her expectantly. When she offered nothing further, he sighed. Ruffling his hair in frustration he decided to play along. It's like pulling teeth! She's so damn stubborn!

"I'm right? Please elaborate; I'm dying to know what I was right about."

Max squeezed her eyes shut and cracked her knuckles. He's gonna make me say it.

"Goddammit, Quinn! Yes, it hurt to see Lianna and Alec together! Yes, I felt guilty!" Was I really that transparent? She held back a bitter laugh, but only barely.

Suddenly, a loud thump from across the apartment sounded, causing her to swivel her head instinctively towards it. "What the hell was that?" Oh god, don't let that be - Before she could finish her thought, however, she heard the voice that always made her weak in the knees. Only this time, the sound broke her heart.

"LIANNA!"

What the...! Quinn's mouth dropped open when the shout registered in his brain. Alec. Screaming Li's name. Oh no, no, no, no! Quinn drew his lips into a tight line. She wouldn't. She just wouldn't! But as he remembered his own experience with Max from earlier he could understand. He'd almost done it himself. And Alec's got the reputation. Oh god, Biggs is gonna kill me!

"Max," he spoke softly, putting his arm around her shoulders and dragging her close to his chest. "Max I-"

She shrugged away from the embrace as she fought back the tears. I will not cry over this, she silently vowed. She'd almost regained some semblance of composure when another outburst from Alec's room made her jump up angrily from the bed.

"ALEC! Stop, that hurts!"

Max began pacing the room, all the while trying to tune out the sounds bombarding her; the screams, the laughter, but worst of all, the silence. Silence in which she could let her imagination run wild, each image gradually wearing her down. Dammit! she screamed inside her head. She realized with a start that in her silent frustration, she'd put her fist through the wall. Her whole body was shaking out of anger and hurt. Her back to the wall, she let herself slide resignedly to the floor as she continued to shake, each twitch slightly more violent than the one before. Shit, not this. Not now! she thought as the reality of what was happening dawned on her.

"Max!" Quinn rushed to her side. He recognized the onset of her seizure. Dammit Alec! This is all your fault!

"I'm out of Tryptophan, Max. We all are." He ran both hands through his hair, trying desperately to think where he could get her the pills she needed. No, it's your fault, Quinn. Alec was just jealous. You did this.

"Maxie, help me out here," he whispered raggedly, his worry increasing by the second.

"No...pills..." she sputtered as her body spasmed in Quinn's arms. She vaguely thought of Cindy, but it would take too long for her to reach the apartment. "I'll be - fine," she winced as a particularly harsh spasm made her bite down on the inside of her cheek, drawing blood. "I'll ride it out..."

Max mumbled something that was hard for Quinn to hear. Her teeth were chattering so bad that she was incomprehensible. He leaned in closer to hear her, but was knocked back as Max's body twisted violently, her forehead hitting his jaw hard. He grunted as he hit the bottom of the bedpost, the impact splitting his bottom lip.

Licking away the blood and wincing at the pain in his jaw, Quinn turned back to see Max fall to her side. Her seizure was a strong one. Quickly grabbing the pillows and blankets from the bed, he arranged them around her head so that she wouldn't hurt herself.

"I'm gonna go see if we have any milk," he exhaled, stroking her hair lightly before exiting the room.

The sounds from Alec's bedroom had stopped. Either they were quietly fucking, which he highly doubted, or they'd fallen asleep. Quinn wondered briefly if he should knock for help, but thought better of it.

Scanning the contents of the fridge, he found it empty save for some fruit. What now, he thought. Turning from the kitchen, he banged his knee on an open cupboard. Looking down, he saw a few cartons scattered in the cabinet. Reaching out, he smiled suddenly, remembering Biggs' private stash of powdered milk. Genius. Biggs, you're a fucking genius! Biggs was always worried about food shortages, especially milk.

Filling a tall glass with water, he added the milk powder and stirred. This will have to do, he thought with a sigh.

Max looked up as best she could from her vantage point on the floor when she heard the door open. Her vision blurred as her body shook, but she could see Quinn rushing towards her with a glass of what looked like milk. He knelt beside her, pulling her into a sitting position. She tried to still herself enough to drink as he held the glass up to her lips, but to no avail. Placing a strong arm around her shoulder as he sat behind her, Quinn tried to hold her in place while she drank.

Max gulped down the liquid as best she could, tremors causing some of it to miss and spill down her shirt.

"Shh Maxie, it's alright," Quinn murmured, rocking her back and forth as she whimpered.

Max barely managed to get the words out between gasps for breath. "Don't...leave."

He gently picked her up, wrapping the blanket around her as best he could and sending the pillow flying over his head and onto the bed with a kick of his foot. Max held tightly to him, digging her nails into his biceps. He felt his skin break, small stabs of pain on either arm.

Quinn flinched and Max shifted in his arms, nails scraping down the sides and onto his stomach, leaving angry red lines. He lowered her onto the mattress and climbed in behind her, spooning her shaking form to his chest. Tucking her head under his chin, Quinn continued to whisper softly to Max.

"I've got you, Maxie. I'm not going anywhere."

Little by little, Max's shaking began to subside, only a few slight tremors passing through her. Relief washed over Quinn as she finally laid almost perfectly still in his arms. He would have to remember to thank Biggs for being a worry-wart later.

Max's breathing slowed and he knew that it wouldn't be long before sleep claimed her, considering the severity of her seizure and the toll it had taken on her body. His mind wandered back to the cause of it all in the first place. Dammit, Alec, you better not have screwed this up!

He heard Max mutter something under her breath and had to strain to make any of it out. The only thing he really caught was a name; Alec.

He sighed quietly as Max finally drifted off to sleep and his own lids became heavy. There's no way she'll ever agree to talk to him now. Not after all that. Soon there was no sound in the room but the shallow breathing that accompanies deep slumber.

Cindy stumbled slightly as she dismounted from Alec's motorcycle. He reached out a hand to steady her before swinging his leg over the side and climbing off himself. She was in no condition to walk up 6 flights of stairs on her own. Wrapping his arm securely around her waist, his other hand taking her arm, Alec moved them into the building.

As the reached the door to her and Max's apartment, Alec watched in slight amusement as Cindy fumbled the key in the lock . And she says Biggs was drunk; how much did she drink? It would've made him smile, had he not been thinking much heavier thoughts at the moment.

Cindy threw a triumphant grin over her shoulder at Alec as the tumblers in the lock finally clicked into place. She pushed open the door with a flourish. Had Alec not grabbed her waist as she did so, she would've toppled over head first after the door.

"Thanks, boo," Cindy said as she regained her balance and smoothed down her shirt where Alec had rumpled it. She gently shrugged off his arm as she walked to the counter in the kitchen and discarded her accessories with little care.

Once assuring himself that she was now home safe and sound and without injury, Alec was about ready to leave. Right. Where am I gonna go? My bed is otherwise occupied, not to mention the fact that Quinn and Max. He cut his train of thought off before he could dwell too long on it. No need to go there. Briefly, he recalled that in the morning, under Lianna's orders, he was supposed to have a talk with Max. Yeah, I'm not seeing the benefit of going home.

"Uh, Cindy? I'm gonna head out..."

She looked at him, taking in the dejected slump of his shoulders and faraway look in his eyes. "Boy, you trippin' if you think Original Cindy gonna let you wander the city at this hour. You can take my bed," she said, slurring her words a bit.

Alec shot her a look of surprise. "Your bed? But where will..." his words trailed off as the door to Max's bedroom slammed closed. O-kay, he thought. Her bed it is.

He pushed aside the purple and pink curtains that defined Cindy's "room" and eased himself onto the plush bedding. Damn, this is nicer than my bed, he thought as he made to get comfortable, kicking off his shoes. He closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come and give him a reprieve from the thoughts that were sure to follow the silence in the apartment. But it was no use; he was wide awake.

Scenes played out in his mind like a movie, making him relive in vivid detail every pained moment he'd spent watching Max and Quinn's interactions.

It was about two weeks previous when he'd sauntered into Crash making a fashionably late entrance. His friends were all sitting around a table, drinking and talking. Alec saw Max, face flushed with excitement as she animatedly described something with her hands. Quinn leaned over and whispered in her ear - something that made her laugh - the sound a light trill of delight. She'd then smacked him on the shoulder and Quinn had retaliated by tickling her sides.
Alec sat up and swung his legs over the side of Cindy's bed. He got up and walked over to the window, leaning his forehead against the cold glass pane. He closed his eyes as he was assaulted by yet another memory.

Lianna's birthday. The makeshift bar in Terminal City was teeming with people. Music beat out heavily in the background. The center of the room was like a solid mass of pulsating bodies.

Suddenly, the crowd parted and Alec's eye lit on the couple in the center of the floor. The song was upbeat, fast, daring. The couple spun and dipped in time with the music. He watched a the girl bent at the waist, her hair flipping like a dark sheet, from side to side, then tossed her head back as her partner bent his head over her shoulder. The crowd was clapping and cheering as they finished their dance and faced the bystanders.

Quinn had his arm around Max's waist, her head resting lightly on his shoulder as they both drew deep breaths to relax.
Alec's fingers tightened to a fist. His first reaction was to slam his fist through the closest wall, but the rational part of his brain reasoned that this was Cindy's room and she might not appreciate his sudden love for structural redevelopment. Instead, he bit down on his knuckles, hard, drawing blood. The physical pain was almost a relief - something else to concentrate on, even if for a brief moment.

And a very brief moment it was, indeed. He pulled back from the window pane, removing his bleeding knuckles from his mouth, and began pacing the room. Two long strides brought him to the first wall, and three more to place him in front of the window. He tried to count how many times he'd paced as he walked, attempting to drive himself to distraction.

"What the hell was he thinking?" he muttered angrily under his breath, unable to hold his emotions at bay any longer. He could picture the dark haired transgenic gasping for breath, his usually sparkling blue eyes bulging as he squeezed the life from his friend. Fuck, why did you do this, Quinn! "I'm gonna kill him!

He threw himself down on the bed, the pacing having only succeeded in making him more enraged due to the loud creaking of the floorboards under his feet.

More images arose to the forefront of his mind, unbidden, and he bit down on his lip as he battled to hold them off.

Alec sat on the couch in the large ballroom, sipping a drink as he watched Max and Quinn, grinding their bodies together intimately. He seethed inwardly as he heard the words Quinn whispered huskily into Max's ear. "You wanna go back to my place?" It took every muscle in Alec's body working overtime to keep from running after them as Quinn led Max out of the room by the hand.

Alec shook his head, trying to erase the scenes from his mind, trying to think of something -anything- but them. The harder he tried, the more vivid the images became.

As he flipped on the light in the apartment, he could hear laughter from somewhere in the room. Then he saw them. Quinn and Max on the floor, on top of each other. The couch was toppled over, and the two transgenics lying entwined seemed very intimate. Rage, jealousy, and hurt coursed through his veins, and he struggled to keep his face completely devoid of all he felt.

His eyelids snapped open, and he grabbed the nearest object - a pillow- and catapulted it across the room to land with a thud against the wall. "Dammit!"

Alec couldn't take it any longer. I need a good, stiff drink...or ten. He quickly pulled on his shoes and gathered his jacket. Silently, he made his way outside and onto his bike.

Driving through the empty streets, the cold air on his face had a calming effect. He considered detouring to the Space Needle, but dismissed the idea. He didn't want to be anywhere that reminded him of Max. Where exactly would that be then? he chided himself. Problem with Max was, wherever he went he thought of her, smelled her, felt her.

Alec pulled up in front of a dark, dirty establishment. Crash had closed at 2am - almost three hours before - and The Blowfish and Josie's had both shut down an hour ago. That left him with the seedy all-night bars down by the docks. He sighed. For a night that had started off like shit, it had only gotten worse.

He sat by the bar for a long while, ignoring the other patrons, the music, loud and uncouth conversations, just knocking back drink after drink to try and numb himself to the pain of remembering.

At long last, the sun came up over the Seattle skyline. Alec dragged himself to the exit. His eyes were bloodshot and his head was pounding, but somehow, he was stone-cold sober.

"To hell with this," he muttered to himself, cursing the day he was created with vehemence. If Lianna thinks I'm gonna tell Max, she's sorely mistaken. But Quinn? He and I are gonna have a little 'talk'...

TBC