Disclaimer: Fox, Charles Eglee, and James Cameron own the characters….

"I promise," he said. He was still shocked by the fact that she'd admitted that she cared about him. He looked at her as if he were looking at a stranger. This was a side of Max that he had never seen or believed existed. Alec froze when he saw her tremble. "Max?"

"I…" Max started to speak, but she was overcome with convulsions.

"Oh crap."

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Chapter 5

Alec caught Max just as she was about to fall over the edge of the Space Needle. He scooped her trembling form up into his arms and quickly left their sanctuary. As intelligent as Manticore's scientists had been, they still had been unable to find a cure for the seizures that plagued the X series.

Alec tried to clear his head and figure out what to do. Terminal City was too far for him to make it back in time. Besides, he was fresh out of tryptophan and, Max wasn't coherent enough to tell him where her meds were.

"Alec…"

Alec looked down at Max. Her eyes were closed, and her small hands gripped his shirt tightly. Even in this moment of weakness, she was strong. He could hear her heartbeat racing and then slowing down. "Come on, Max. Hold on." He took her to the closest place he could think of—Logan's apartment.

In too much of a hurry to use conventional methods or manners, he kicked open the door to Logan's home and closed it with his hip. He quickly and as gently as possible, placed Max on the couch.

"Logan!" Alec called out only to be greeted by silence. Where's Miracle Boy when you need him? he thought in irritation. He blurred to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. He didn't bother getting a cup. He knelt beside Max and forced her to drink some of the milk. The effects of the tryptophan in the milk were almost instantaneous. The tremors and shaking stopped for the time being. Alec knew that the milk was only a temporary solution. In a little while, the seizures would start back up, and they would probably be worse. "There's a hospital down the street, Max. I'm going to go and see about "borrowing" some tryptophan. I'll be back. I promise," he whispered in her ear. He stood up and stared down at her. How did she do it? One minute he was furious with her and then the next minute, he was risking everything for her. Already, he had made two promises to her tonight, and he didn't plan on breaking either one.

&&&&

Logan tried not to be impatient. He had paged Max five times already. He'd been waiting for her at TC for three hours.

"Hey, Logan," Lonnie said, coming over to him. Lonnie was tall for an X5 female—a little over five feet nine inches. She had wide hazel eyes and light brown skin.

"Hi, Lonnie." Logan looked at his watch.

"You're looking for Max?"

"Yes. You know where she is?"

Lonnie shook her head. "Max slips out of here sometimes without telling anyone. We're all used to it. Besides, I'm not as close to her as Kassie and Alec. If they don't know where she is, no one does."

"Alec? Do you know where he is right now?"

Lonnie looked thoughtful. "You know, he left about two hours after Max did. Don't ask me where he went because I haven't the slightest idea."

Logan was silent, deep in thought. So both Max and Alec were gone. Were they somewhere together? Was she cheating on him with Alec? Then again, could it really be called cheating? Logan and Max weren't together the way normal boyfriends and girlfriends were. It was that stupid virus. "Can I ask you a question, Lonnie?"

The African American transgenic nodded slowly. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to want to answer this question.

"Do you think that Max and Alec are more than friends?" Logan asked casually.

Lonnie read between the lines. Were Max and Alec together? She had to approach this question very carefully. "Yes, I think they're more than friends. They've been through a lot together. They're family now."

Logan frowned. That wasn't the answer he'd expected to hear. Then he realized that even if they were together, Lonnie wouldn't tell him. He was an Ordinary. X series soldiers looked out for each other, and they were extremely loyal. No matter how hard he fought on their side, he would never be one of them.

&&&&&

Even though Alec had not thoroughly planned out his hospital break in, he knew that it wouldn't be a difficult job. After all, he had been trained to do this his whole life. Getting past security was fairly easy. He crept up the stairs so quietly that even he couldn't hear his steps. He found the supply closet without a problem.

Knowing it would be locked; he crouched down in the shadows and waited for security to make its nightly runs. Sure enough, within minutes, he heard the jingle of the guard's keys. He waited until the guard was close to his position before jumping out and attacking. He punched the chubby guard in the face and knocked him out with another powerful jab. Alec carefully laid the man down on the floor so that there weren't any unnecessary noises to draw unwanted attention. He took the keys, unlocked the door, and helped himself to two bottles of tryptophan. And then as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone.

&&&&

Logan finally decided to go home. There was no point in hanging around TC. He made his way to his apartment only to find that the lock on his door was broken. He grabbed the bat that he kept in the front by the door and braced himself for whatever was inside.

"Max!" Logan dropped the bat and rushed to the couch where Max was shaking uncontrollably. "Oh my God!" He tried to put on his gloves so that he could help her, but they kept falling because of his nervousness.

"Move, Logan," Alec said, behind him. He pushed the older man aside and pulled a container of tryptophan from the inside of his leather jacket. He pushed Max's damp hair out of her face and forced the medication into her mouth. "You're going to be okay, Max," he whispered as he held her down so that she wouldn't fall off of the couch. He let out a sigh of relief when the seizures ceased, and she relaxed.

Logan watched enviously. Alec could touch Max when he couldn't. He could help her when he couldn't. "She'll be okay now," he said just because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I know," Alec said. He glanced at Max. She was asleep now and the color had returned to her cheeks.

"You were with her before the seizures?" Logan's voice held an accusatory tone.

Alec looked at him in disgust. "Are you really going to sit here and put on a jealous act? Max could have died!" he spat out angrily. I could have lost her. What did Max see in this man? He took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. "Look, can she stay here tonight or should I bring her home?"

"She can stay here," Logan said. He didn't even turn around when Alec left. "What's happening to us, Max?" he whispered.