Title: …Happily Ever After
Author: Roxy
Beta Reader: Rose
Category: Action, Humor and Romance. (M/L)
Rating: PG 13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. I don't own Dark Angel, though Noah and Lou do belong to me. I am making no money out of this.
Summary: This is my hit at a 3rd season. Max and the others are trapped in TC, surrounded by White's men. A new little sister comes along. Deck reappears (isn't he just our favorite bad guy?). X5s reunion. More Familiars and how to deal with them.
Previous Chapter: White and his Familiars have tracked down Lou's parents. Follows: Harsh argument between Deck and Lou; Zack, Max, Alec and Noah make a trip to England with their baby sister and manage to get Mr. and Mrs. Wilson back. Not without physical damage, still the dream team is back on American land.
Feedback: Beta babe did quick this time, didn't she? Less than a month after the last update… yeah well, she's taken on time on her thanksgiving break so… About the chapter, not much action in this one, sorry. Thought you had enough in the last one ;-) Next one will be full of it too as EO gets back in the game. In this chapter, I chose to focus on inner turmoil, feeling, emotion, passion! Little inner facility intrigues! Yes, I was in a soap opera mood when I wrote this :p
Black Rose 9: As always, you're the first one to review… I'll probably never thank you enough for your support. Glad you like Noah. She was the main character in my other fic but in HEA she's only a secondary character so sometimes, I have troubles with her; trying not to let her character "die out" or become part of the setting and then at the same time, not making her become too important. Your question about the Wilsons will be answered in the next few minutes so I won't spoil it for you. I do make a mean White but I love Deck's character. He's complex, determined and obstinate. He seems to be his own worst enemy.
Katie: Welcome! Yey a new reader! Keep reviewing girl!
BlueAngel137: Welcome to you too and thank you for reviewing! Glad you enjoyed the action… I thought there might've been a bit too much but then you know what they say; too much of anything is just perfect! Lol! Not much action in this chapter though, I'll make it up to you in the coming one promise! Glad you like the dialogs, that's what I have the most fun writing. Sometimes, I just laugh in front of my screen as some scenes are taking place… then I stop and realize that A) it's completely arrogant and pretentious to be enjoying your own work so much and B) laughing in front of a computer all by yourself is just something so pathetic to do lol! Keep reviewing as well!
Big Edna: Review fast this time; my nerves can't take the waiting lol! I still don't know what you like best, action filled chapters, smutty and fluffy ones, or ones filled with witty remarks and animated dialogs? I know I get bored with too much action really quick.
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…. Happily Ever After
Chapter VII: … So little answers
"Well, I guess its goodbye newly Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Adams" Lou said her words muffled in her mother's embrace.
Yes, it was good bye.
Mr. Wilson had already shook hands with all X5s: promising the boys that next time he saw them, he would lend Zack his entire Star Wars collection, and would allow Alec to drive any car in his entire and rather rare collection.
Zack had beamed like a little boy who'd just been promised a collection of GI Joes for Christmas ("All nine episodes Noah! Can you believe it?"; "Hardly") and Alec had declared he wanted to be adopted right away.
"Now come on Lillian, you're gonna have to let go of her or we'll miss our plane" Mr. Wilson said facing his wife still clutching their daughter.
But Mrs. Wilson ignored her husband and kept on passing her fingers through Lou's hair; they were both whispering indistinguishable things to each other… things that seemed quite funny considering their muffled laughs.
William Barnum Deice took a step forward. Logan had provided new papers for him as well and he was on his way to South Africa with the Wilsons and drooling Donald on that same day.
"I had quite some time on my hands, so I thought I'd make these" he said displaying several boxes in front of him.
Alec sniffed the air like the starving cat that he was.
"Nice to know that while we were wrestling against members of a whacky cult, you've kept yourself busy William"
Noah elbowed him and took the boxes filled with delicious food from William's hands.
"Thank you William"
"You're welcome Miss Noah" he politely lowered his head.
"You know what William Barnum Deice butler to the Wilson family? I could get used to a guy like you" Alec smirked.
"Lillian, honey, we should really board the plane now" Mr. Wilson said, "It's not like our private jet, there are other people on this flight"
"Yes, George, I know" Mrs. Wilson sighed exasperatedly.
"Besides, hugging her like that, what do you think her little friends are going to think of her afterwards?"
"Why yes, Lou after this we could call you a whiny kiddo" Alec smirked.
"Shut up Alec" Lou said in an American accent.
"Honey, as long as I'm here, could you remain polite please?" Lillian frowned.
"Of course Mom, forgive me" Lou said in a British accent and with a fake smile, she turned towards Alec and added, "Alec? Could you please keep that wonderfully annoying trap located right under your noise forever locked in my presence? Thank you. How was that?" she added, turning back to her mother.
"Perfect honey" Mrs. Wilson answered tenderly.
"Come on Lillian, we're late. Good bye Lou" Mr. Wilson said hugging his daughter.
"Well, that would certainly be the first time in your entire life that being late has ever been a problem for you"
"I fail to see what you're referring to Lillian" Mr. Wilson played blonde.
"Oh, come on George. You've been late all your life" she said as they walked away.
"Would you happen to have any examples backing up that theory honey?" Mr. Wilson said kindly following her.
"Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Remember that important day in your life? I believe it was the day, I was wearing that puffy white dress that made me look like a giant meringue and you arrived nearly an hour and half after you were supposed to. Leaving me and your parents dreadfully worried, not to mention my parents who thought you were going to leave me standing at the altar and-"
"That was nearly an exception! You know how alarm clocks always fail you when they're least supposed to"
"George honey, it didn't fail you; you didn't hear it ring, it's more like the other way around. Just like for that appointment at the dentist last month which I'm quite sure you skipped on purpose"
"Bloody hell Lillian, that's exactly like you to make an appointment on Saturdays!"
"You were busy every other day of the week!" she turned to the four X5s and waved one last time.
"Well maybe but I don't need to go to the dentist!"
"Oh yes you do and you will! I shall drag you by those three hairs stubbornly remaining on your skull if I have to!"
"Lillian! … And I have more than three hairs on my skull"
"Whatever you have to tell yourself George"
And Lou stood there, listening to her bickering parents' voices fade away, a sad smile on her face and tear pearling at the corner of her eye.
-------------------
They were back.
They were back and he hadn't thrown them away. How could he?
When Zack, Noah, Max and Alec had returned with a deeply injured Lou, all the others had gathered up around them as if to stand up to him. Lydecker hadn't intended to banish Lou anyway, he had said that out of anger but, as far as the rest were concerned – her lack of discipline, of responsibility, her stubbornness at acting with her heart rather than her mind – he had meant it.
All those features could be found in every element of this facility. They all had it in them, that human weakness, that human failure. He had suffered from it too and it had led him right to another deeper weakness: alcohol. It was like a vicious circle.
You had to show incredible bravery, stamina and toughness to get out of it. But it was best never to fall into it and that was what Lydecker had wanted for his kids.
He had tried to get it out of them. It would just make it easier if they didn't have to deal with feelings and such. He had been tough, especially on X5s and they had run away. He had done things to them that were… unforgivable: torture, tyranny, even murder… all that because he knew.
He knew what it was like to loose the one and only thing you live for, the one and only thing that matters, that gets you through the day, but soldiers aren't supposed to have such things. The only thing that must keep a soldier going is the mission and its success.
Lydecker had wanted to show them that, to make them understand that, to spare them the grief of loosing their purpose in life. He might have succeeded; who knows what would have happened if a group of X5s hadn't escaped back in 09?
He might have had it all; all that he had dreamt for them and the professional recognition for him… who knew?
However, now that he looked around him. He saw no trace of it.
Max couldn't keep going without Logan. Lou missed her parents and acted like a spoiled little princess. Maybe the reason why she was the most disappointing subject was because she had been raised like a normal child? Maybe it had been easier for her to forget about her training because she had escaped so young? She had only been five.
Hell, Zack had been ten and look at him! Lydecker wondered how Zack would react if Noah was to die in battle. He would be just as miserable as any plain, average, common ordinary male. He would probably react like Lydecker had once done himself.
Syl and Krit hadn't shown much more sense, but then he could've seen that coming!
Had it all been for nothing then? His dreams hadn't come true; his hopes hadn't been taken into account… but what about Sandeman's? What had he really had in mind?
The so called genius of his times had caused trouble twenty years ago and just when Lydecker had thought that he was over and done with him, one of the bastard's little plans had launched under his very nose… the runes.
-------------------
Lou liked when people fussed all over her, like her parents and William always did at home, but hospital employees are not always fussing in the nice term of the word.
They show no interest in you unless you're on the verge of passing out. Lou was maybe in a bad state, but her genetically enhanced stem cells were already kicking in and her days were far from being counted… unless of course, boredom could kill.
She wasn't about to rush things to return to training, though… No way! But she was really lonely and it had only been a few hours since they had arrived and Lydecker had made them his warm welcome.
Not that Lou had expected him to receive her with open arms and a pack of home made chocolate chip cookies! Maybe the fact that he hadn't thrown her right back out was a good sign… maybe.
Well she hadn't exactly apologized either for the horrible things she had told him:
"Were you always this cold, this dead inside? I don't know how you even turned into the cold hearted bastard that you are!"
That hadn't been a very nice thing to say and even if, at the time, she hadn't controlled the words coming out of her mouth because she had been so angry, had it been anybody else than Lydecker, she already would've said that she hadn't meant a single word of it…
But it was Lydecker. And maybe if it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have gotten that angry.
Sure she was a spoiled brat, and she liked it that way, but Lou didn't think of herself as mean.
There was a knock on the door and Alec's head peered inside her room.
"Room service" he said in a high pitched voice.
"About time too! I'm missing a fluffy pillow and what the hell are your blankets made of? Wood? They're as rough as my grand father's feet! And I've also asked for a hot chocolate and that was over ten minutes ago" Lou said in her princess tone.
Alec stepped in, smirking and came to sit on the side of her bed.
"So, how's it going kiddo?"
"Take a wild guess" Lou said lifting her plastered arm.
"I'd say you look as big a pain in the ass as ever"
"Why thank you, and how would you describe yourself?"
"God's gift to women of course!" Alec snorted cockily.
"Really?" Lou looked him up and down and true, he was fine but she'd die of a horrible and painful death before ever admitting it, "I didn't expect God to send a gift so…"
"So charming?" Alec smirk widened somehow.
"No, that's not the word" Lou shook her head.
"So irresistible?"
"Nope"
"So crowd generating?"
"No, I'd say… so esthetically challenged" Lou's smile broadened while Alec's froze.
"As politically correct as ever I can see" he simply noted and Lou mentally marked the score.
"My mother taught me well. Where are the others?"
"Noah and Zack have just got out. Max's still in for a little bonus apparently"
"Yes, I've overheard the nurses talking about it"
An awkward silence fell between them. A silence filled with uneasiness and seriousness.
"So, what are you still doing here if you're clear? Haven't you got thousands of demanding female transgenics to satisfy?"
"I might've. But I'm working on a new approach"
"Which is?" Lou inquired.
"Building up anticipation" he wriggled his brow in a meaningful way.
"I'd have said skipping training more like it"
"Well, our dear Deck has locked himself in his office and refuses to see anyone… Looks like your hero return has left him at a loss for words"
"I have not returned as a hero"
"True, I'm the hero and you guys helped a little"
"Yeah, well you weren't the one who was being tortured by White, were you?" Lou said moodily.
The last thing she needed was memories of that.
"No, but you seem fine; like I said, as big a pain in the ass as ever. Looks like that trip to England did you a lot of good"
"Really? Doesn't look much like it from here!" Lou said looking down at her broken ribs and stroking them.
"These look fine to me" Alec smirked, eyeing a part of her body above her ribs.
Lou snatched her arms over her breasts, looking outraged.
"Alec, how dare you!"
"Yeah, that's what they all say at first" Alec shrugged.
"Get the hell outta my sight!"
"Whatever you want" he said as if she had just suggested skipping to the black leather suits, handcuffs and whip.
Lou opened her mouth but wasn't able to form any words; she found that she couldn't even glare at him. Alec stood up, very much amused.
"See you around kiddo" he wriggled his brow again and left.
Lou remained alone in her room, arms still clutched around herself, lower lip dropped.
Annoying mangy git!
He just never knew when enough was enough, did he? What did he think she was? Another one of those females demanding for him to satisfy her?
Dream on golden boy!
She was trying to be irritated but she couldn't repress the smile that was twitching the corners of her lips.
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Legs bent, eyes quickly flicking from here to there back to here, covering every corner of the empty hall like spotlights, ears chasing the slightest noise that would betray a human presence, Noah was slowly progressing back to her room.
Maybe he had given up by now? But better safe than sorry, right?
She had walked out of the hospital wing and he had been there; she had stepped out of Lydecker's office and he had been there; she had went earlier to dinner and STILL THERE, with his pleading blue eyes and his worried boyish smile.
God Logan, get a life that doesn't involve harassing me to find out where your girlfriend is!
Truth was; Noah did know the reason why Max had been held up with Lou in the hospital wing. Nothing life threatening really, unless of course, Eyes Only was subject to heart attacks caused by surprises.
Oh no, someone's coming from around the corner!
Heavy footsteps: tall young man, Noah guessed.
Well at least that ruled out Lydecker and left out nearly the entire male population in this damn facility!
What were the chances for it not to be transgenic but a human? Very slight, but existent nonetheless, and that was enough for Noah to flatten against the cold wall, making an excellent imitation of the chased crab with an excess of feline DNA.
She held her breath. The steps were getting closer and they were coming her way; crab in apnea or not, the person would see her the second they turned around the corner.
This is ridiculous really!
She would simply tell Logan that she still didn't know where Max was and that he should say, go harass Alec instead.
The person would be here any second now… three, two, one, go!
Noah grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
"Will you stop following me around? Look, I really don't know where she-Alec? What the hell are you doing here?"
The male X5 had raised both his arms in the surprise of Noah's attack and was now frowning in an expression that could be described as 'total incomprehension of the present situation'.
"What am I doing here? I didn't know this corridor belonged to you! Is this some other kind of trick? Cuz I swear I wasn't following you! I was just going to dinner!" he said defensively.
"Sorry" a slightly embarrassed Noah said letting him go, "I thought you were someone else"
Alec's facial expression went from confusion and panic back to its usual cockiness.
"Oh, I get it, don't tell me! You and Zack are into kinky role plays. I didn't think Zack'd be the kind of guy going for female domination"
Noah snorted, rolled her eyes but thought that she might as well play the game. Alec knew she'd be kidding and she had long ago understood that you had to beat him at his own game. So, she said:
"You have no idea" then, on a more serious tone she went on, "I was expecting Logan actually"
"Oh, I see, a threesome" Alec joked putting an arm around her shoulders, "Look Noah it's time for you to realize that you are a unique creature unlike any other and that you are worth way more than the silly little games Logan and Zack are making you play at. I, for one thing, can dedicate myself to helping you discover a whole new world-"
"-in which oh-so cherished parts of your body would be ripped off" Noah finished, lowering her voice and putting a finger on Alec's lips.
"My entire body is cherished by women all over the globe. Could you be a little bit more specific?" Alec gave her his trademark smirk.
Doesn't he ever shut up?
"Sure, let me give you hint. It starts with a 'b' and rhymes with '-alls'. Specific enough?"
"Noah" Alec said faking astonishment, "When have my sincere eyes ever offended?"
"I wasn't referring to your eyeballs Alec"
"Oh" Alec paused, musing, "I bet that would hurt"
"I bet it would" she replied with a morbid smile.
Then, walking away backwards so as to still face him, she winked at him:
"See ya around"
She then, gave him an all too clear sexy smile followed by a brief lifted eye brow, spun around and headed up to the X5s' rooms.
Once she had disappeared Alec faked a shiver before saying out loud:
"Ooh that woman!" and heading for the cafeteria.
-------------------
Ok, that was it!
She was tired of lying in bed! That was all she had been allowed to do ever since she had gotten back to the facility… enough was enough!
She was going to become claustrophobic if she stayed locked in this narrow room any longer.
"Remain still" the doctor had said.
But remaining still involved physical inertia and when your body isn't working, your mind automatically logs in. And then, once your mind's taken over, bad things start to happen because your mind likes to overload you with memories - which are not always mirthful – and questions which you don't have answers for and you don't care to answer for that matter. But your mind keeps on pounding them into your brain, making you think they are important; at least that was Lou's theory on the question.
So, that was why she had come to the basic conclusion that hospital wing was synonymous of rubbing the fact that she wouldn't be able to see her parents anymore and that she had been tortured to near death; nope, she was not going to remain still to go through all that again.
Everyone considered her mentally traumatized, like they expected her to collapse any minute under the impact of her recent trip to England. But Lou would not give in to that!
They - her siblings and even the medical staff - were being so nice, too nice, it was making her sick.
For God's sake, she would be up and back in training in one or two weeks at the most. What was up with the whole 'don't breath too hard on Lou or she might break' attitude?
She was perfectly fine and she would show them just how tough she really was.
She had sneaked out of the hospital wing after slipping on a pair of socks - Hello? Ever heard of thermal heating floor sensors? - and pants, just because you're limping doesn't mean that every guy in the facility has the right to scope out your perfect made-in-Manticore butt, thank you very much.
Plus, the guy she was looking for would be sure to notice such details as her gown being open in the back; he was such a perverted specimen! And he had proved it once again a few hours earlier.
Yeah, maybe she did owe Alec apologies; she had been a little harsh but then he had been tactless. But that was just his attitude, wasn't it? Not that 'Posh X5' would ever be caught in the act of apologizing. How very melodramatic!
Alec was probably at dinner which was the reason why she was limping towards the cafeteria. Maybe she should've borrowed clutches?
She came to a stop when she heard voices at the intersection between the corridor coming from the hospital wing, the one leading to the cafeteria and the stairs going up to the X5s' room.
"… into kinky role plays. I didn't think Zack'd be the kind of guy going for female domination"
"You have no idea"
Lou recognized the voices instantly: Alec and Noah.
'Posh X5' would've announced her presence at that very moment, if the conversation hadn't appeared so interesting.
Besides, who had ever proven that it really had been curiosity that'd killed the cat? I mean, he could've been poisoned or something? Lou told herself. Or maybe he met a bigger cat? Or maybe he just bailed with a female?
Anyway, kinky games? Lou wanted to hear about that. She would be able to blackmail Zack with that kind of information! No more supervising X7s trainings ever again. Maybe she could even get him to supply her with cherry flavored gum…
Hey what was up with the arm around Noah's shoulders?
Fool, Lou shrugged again; Noah would be sure to reward him with a nice punch for that!
"… for you to realize that you are a unique creature unlike any other and that you are worth way more than those silly little games Logan and Zack are making you play at. I, for one thing, can dedicate myself to helping you discover a whole new world-"
What? Hey, get your finger of his lips!
Still waiting for the punch to come… any second now…
God, Noah couldn't possibly be falling for that! What about Zack?
Lou had had enough! She couldn't believe the nerve of Alec to come after her sister like that! After the way he had acted with her that same afternoon!
She spun around and went right back where she came from.
No way, it couldn't be! Alec hadn't shown any sign of interest in Noah since the 'Krit incident'. And the way Zack looked at Noah when he thought no one was looking. Noah wouldn't do that to him. No, she couldn't and she wouldn't!
I must've gotten it wrong! Yeah, that's it! I bet if I go back now, I'll find Alec on the floor, holding his groin in terrible pain.
And so, she crept back, the other two still oblivious of her presence.
"Oh, I bet that would hurt" Alec smirked devilishly.
Urgh! He still had that arm around her!
This couldn't be a plain, simple gesture! Alec had never held Lou this way and for all she knew (and how little she knew!), he hadn't held any of the other girls that way either.
"I bet it would. See ya around"
What was up with the wink and the smile? Noah might as well have said 'come and get me boy' and the message would have been just as clear.
Well, at least she was gone now but what had that been all about?
"Ooh, that woman!"
That woman… Noah…
Had Alec ever considered Lou as a woman? No, he always called her 'kiddo'. She was just a little girl in his eyes. Not that she had ever wanted to appear as more mature. But that afternoon he had been… Come off it Lou, he's like that with every girl!
She was seventeen and much more preoccupied by remaining her parents' spoiled single child than anything else… up until now anyway.
-------------------
No matter how hard he was trying to focus on the elements on the computer screen before him, Logan's thoughts kept automatically returning to Max.
Where was she?
In the hospital wing but why?
Focus, focus. You need to get Eyes Only out of his closet. People out there need him.
But what if Max needed him right now? What could possibly be wrong with her?
When Max, Alec, Zack, Noah and Lou had knocked at the facility's gate, he had felt relieved; it had been like a heavy burden had been taken off his back.
Lydecker, however, hadn't let any sign of happiness or relief slip through his cold military façade. Not that Logan had expected him to jump to his feet, thank God and do the dance of welcome, but still… Perhaps not kicking the four of their transgenic asses out of the facility came as close as throwing a welcome back party as Lydecker could.
Stop thinking about it Logan! Concentrate on the task at hand and that would be Gonzales… yeah, he's a real bad guy, unlike Lydecker!
Well, come to think of it, it wasn't like Lydecker had had any kind of choice; he needed Max and Lou anyway and none of the other X5s would've stayed if Zack hadn't come back.
Yeah, not much of a choice.
Without a question, Lydecker had ordered the four X5s to "pursue medical attention" and that had been it.
The colonel's gaze had lingered on a just as closed up Lou surrounded by all her siblings and Alec, in an attempt at supporting her both physically -- Posh X5 could barely walk on her own -- and morally, to show Lydecker where their loyalty and solidarity lay.
The effect had been the one expected: the five of them had been asked to report to Lydecker's office as soon as they were declared clear by the medical staff.
Zack, Noah and Alec had already been in and out of Lydecker's office.
Considering Lou's physical condition and her latest argument with the colonel, Logan doubted that she would even step foot in his office; that is, not in the coming… decades.
But where was Max? What was taking so long?
Harassing Noah had turned out useless: if the X5 knew anything, she had both held her tongue and proven to be a born liar -- but weren't they all?
If something had gone wrong, she would've told him.
Yes, Noah would've told me, Logan tried to convince himself.
Stop thinking about her, Logan! It's probably nothing! Focus on Gonzales… dangerous criminal building up his own drug and prostitution net… a bad guy just like Eyes Only likes them.
But if nothing had gone wrong then why was it taking so long for her to get back?
Even Eyes Only could use a little X5 neurological enhancement to focus on several tasks at once from time to time.
Logan was sitting at his large desk, blankly staring at the monitor before him, his back to the door as memories of Max raced through his mind.
He nearly jumped out of his chair when his vision was obscured.
Somebody had placed a hand on his eyes and Logan was absolutely unable to tell who that person was. But he knew who he wanted it to be.
He struggled to turn around and free himself but the touch, though soft and warm, was also firm.
The person's other hand was resting on his shoulder and Logan felt the pressure on that part of his body increase a little: the person was leaning forward. Soon enough, Logan felt a warm breath on the side of his head.
Something long and silky brushed his cheek: hair.
The touch was familiar though he hadn't experienced it in months; he had to be day dreaming.
"It's funny how Eyes Only can be so easy to find. I'm sure some people aren't just looking hard enough"
That voice... it had near-whispered in his ear, sending soft, hot breaths on his face. He knew it, he knew that voice. His heart started racing. It had maybe lost its gravity but it was the same voice nonetheless.
He wanted to look, but at the same time, he dreaded it. What if he was only daydreaming? What if it wasn't her? His entire mind was yelling at him that it couldn't be, that he was just imagining, but the pounding in his chest spoke otherwise.
Logan couldn't stand the torture of not knowing any longer and slowly turned his head around. This time the hand released its grip.
"Ok, now I know I'm dreaming" he said.
His eyes went from the sparkling almond shaped eyes to the hand that was hanging in the air where his forehead had been seconds ago.
The hand moved closer and brushed the side of his face, followed its curves all the way down to his chin where it lingered.
The feeling was so light and brisk, that Logan wondered whether he had been touched at all.
He raised a hand to his face and closed it on Max's hand, pressing her slender fingers hard against his skin as if wanting them to melt into him.
Logan closed his eyes at the warm sensation he had been craving for so long and sighed in relief. He wasn't dreaming; this was real.
He blinked his eyes open and stared into Max's brown eyes.
Her bee-stung lips were stretched in a sly tender smile and the sparkle in her eyes betrayed the mixture of emotions going on inside of her.
He wanted to get lost in them, to get lost in her.
Suddenly, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him: the gap between them appearing unbearable to him now that he knew for sure he could touch her.
Max let out a squeak of surprise lost in Logan's lips as he dragged her into a passionate kiss.
One hand in her hair and the other down her back, he pressed her against him tighter and tighter.
Now sitting on Logan's lap, her thighs around his hips, Max's feet were barely touching the floor.
Max's head being a little higher than Logan's in the stance they had adopted, she arched her neck down in order to deepen the kiss.
Her tongue was meeting Logan's for the first time in too long a time and the warmth of their touch felt soft and tender but also unsure and fragile.
Max thought she could count the number of times she and Logan had exchanged that kind of intimacy on her hand. It was so unfair for Max to feel like walking through unexplored fields when she was just being with Logan.
After all this time, any normal couple would know the other one's body by heart, their reactions, what made them scream and what sent them to the moon. Max realized yet how much she had to learn about Logan and that frightened her.
She wrapped her arms around him, her hands mirroring his: one lost in his dark blond hair and the other one slipped between Logan's back and the chair's back, applying a pressure on Logan's upper body, stretching up his back, making it lengthen just as he was doing with hers in an attempt at getting even closer.
Max could feel her heartbeats accelerating and hear her breathing get louder and harsher. The same thing was happening to her partner as their kiss was getting more and more intense.
They broke apart and their eyes met for what seemed like the first time in a very long time. Logan's pupils were dilated, nearly obscuring the blue of his eyes.
She knew the look in his eyes was reflected in hers: desire, craving and love.
She inhaled loudly and without ever breaking eye contact, she whispered:
"Logan… I… I love you"
There.
That hadn't been nearly as hard as what she'd thought it would. Then again, the words didn't mean as much as the consequences they generated.
She loved the man before her and she had loved him for a very long time. Would finally telling him really change anything?
She knew he loved her for he had already told her several times but now, now that it felt safe, now that they could hope, now was the time to open herself up to him.
"I know Max"
"I know you know" she smirked, "I just needed to tell you"
"I love you too Max" he said leaning forward to capture her lips with his once more.
He wanted to explore her mouth, to know all the hidden corners of it.
She was pressing herself closer to him and he was doing the same when he realized how unbearable the idea of wearing clothes had become to him.
He wanted to touch Max; he wanted her so much he thought his insides would catch fire if he didn't have her right now.
Max seemed to be feeling the same way, her fingers had made their way under Logan's shirt and were now pulling it up. Trouble was that they'd have to break apart to get the shirt up over Logan's head and out of the way. And neither of them seemed willing to take the initiative to separate.
When they finally did, the absence of the other's warmth felt insufferable; neither could stand it. Logan quickly pulled Max's tank top up as well and when he pulled her close again, their burning bare bodies met.
Logan shivered and Max gasped.
Logan's mouth drew away from Max's lips and followed the line of her jaw and down her neck.
They lingered there in the little hole at the top of her neck, beneath her chin; a hole made especially for his mouth, Max thought as his mouth fitted perfectly there while his fingers were expertly getting rid of her bra.
Her fingers still lost in his hair, Max's hand followed Logan's movements as he moved down her collarbone, right between her breasts.
Max moaned and as a response, a sigh was emanated by Logan.
One hand was still tightly wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling as she was now arching her back to allow him more access.
His free hand joined his mouth and grazed over her breasts. Max's breathing got even louder.
Finally, Logan turned the chair he was still sitting on towards the part of the desk covered in papers.
He got to his feet, Max still pressed against him, her ankles locked behind his back.
He threw all the papers concerning the Gonzales case to the floor and lay Max down on the desk.
He paused for a moment, wanting to capture that image of her: hair messed up, swollen lips, the quick rise and fall of her naked chest… all his doing.
Max pumped back on her elbows; she was missing the contact with his bare skin. She extended one arm, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer.
Logan fell on top of her and the feeling of his delicious weight pressing against her made her moan once more.
She searched for Logan's lips and found them while she was unfastening his belt and trousers.
As he was struggling to get rid of Max's pants, Logan wondered when his mind had stopped throwing questions at him: how could this be? Where had the virus gone? Was Max permanently cured?
There would be time for questions later… tomorrow… maybe the day after that or even next week or next month…
-------------------
Forget about boredom! Lou had a new friend lying on her bed next to her… His name was Anger and he wasn't really nice.
Stupid mangy annoying selfish obsessed and perverted wanker!
Yeah, Alec was all those things and more. He hit on every thing that had a pair of breasts and this afternoon, he had just realized that she was part of that category!
What do you call those kinds of people? Oh, yeah, average males!
There was another knock on the door. Lou turned her head towards the new comer and snapped:
"What!"
It was Zack and he looked slightly taken aback by her tone.
"Um… sorry. I'm a little… edgy"
Zack closed the door behind him and stepped in, hands in his pockets.
"Whatever you call it" he smiled.
"Yeah, the hospital wing's driving me mad! I think my mental health is at stake here" Lou said still crankily.
"Well no worries then, you'll be out tomorrow and be able to return to your room which is empty now"
Lou had been sharing her room with Max ever since they had arrived.
"Tell me about it! I can feel the vibrations! They're driving me nuts as well! Curse that sixth sense! Curse Sandeman and his stupid runes!"
"Whatever made you hate the whole world today?" the big brother asked amused.
"Who else? The one and only sodding Alec!"
"What did he do now?" Zack's smile faded and was replaced with a deep frown.
"Just being his normal disgusting self" Lou spat out, "You know, saying things he shouldn't, looking at things he shouldn't, putting his arm around shoulders and making indecent propositions and all that to people he shouldn't!" Lou ranted more to herself than to Zack.
"Really? What did he do to you?" he asked gravely.
He still took his role of protecting his siblings very seriously, like it was imprinted in his DNA. It was in his nature to make sure the ones he loved were happy, otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to England and he wouldn't have helped the others out of Terminal City in the first place.
"Not only me! He's been playing around with the same person ever since he's got here. You'd think that ending up naked in another guy's room would have calmed his urges but nooo, he just keeps coming back for more!"
"He's been sniffing around Noah again?"
"Yes and you know what-"Lou interrupted herself as she saw the grave and furious look on Zack's face.
"I - it's not that - um- I might've-"she stammered, not sure she had anything to say at all.
Zack silently got up and left.
The noise of the door's slamming echoed long after he had closed it and it stayed haunting her. It was like she had trapped Alec. He deserved it, she tried convincing herself. He sure did. Someone had to stop his cocky attitude.
But Zack? It was like she had used him too. If something was really going on between Noah and Alec, was she the one who had to break it to Zack? Did she have the right to intervene in their private business just because she was… jealous and angry and felt betrayed.
She did feel all these things but Lou didn't want to ask herself why she felt them. She knew she did and she was more preoccupied with what these feelings had led her to do; what they had made her do…
If Zack got really mad, things could turn ugly and it would all be her fault.
She kept seeing the look on her big brother's face: he had worn an expression of cold barely controlled fury and she couldn't blame him. She was responsible for it, she truly was and there was no stopping what she had launched now.
It had all happened so fast, she hadn't realized; one second, Zack was kind and concerned and the next… she was a spoiled brat, but that, that had been sheer meanness.
-------------------
"So, you got that sorta mermaid Manticore specimen from White all by yourself?" Jondy summed up what Alec had been bragging about all dinner long.
Jondy hardly seemed to be impressed and Alec hardly seemed to notice it: the perfect couple.
"Yeah, well, Max did help a little" Alec shrugged, "I was the one that ate the bullet; proof that I took care of all the risky situations"
They had both just exited the cafeteria and were about to join the others in the 'TV room'. One of the few rooms in the facility that could hold the entire transgenic population and several television sets.
"I'm sure you did" Jondy said, more sarcasm dripping from her words then she had first intended.
She knew Alec was all about being smug and Jondy, well, she was all about being nice. So nice, that Alec had mistaken her polite fainted interest for a real passionate one and hadn't let her out of the range of his voice since dinner.
"You should've seen this" Alec smirked, "White had his men all over the place and I was holding her in my arms, like this. Time was against us, she had already spent too much time out of the water! So, I had to-"
Jondy hadn't seen it coming. Therefore, it had been impossible for Alec to elude it; he had been too caught up in mimicking his heroic rescue of the trapped gill girl.
Next second she looked at Alec, he was on the floor, his hand on his bleeding and swelling lip, looking up at a broad shouldered; muscular figure, she recognized as Zack's, though he had his back to her. The barcode told her that much.
Zack's fists were clenched and though Jondy hadn't properly witnessed anything, she guessed that one of them was responsible for Alec's present state.
"Zack?" Alec said pushing himself back up thanks to the wall with one hand, the other one still covering the side of his mouth and chin, "What the hell was-"
Alec never got the time to finish his confused interrogation. Zack closed his hands around his throat, yanked him up to his feet and knocked him against the wall. He maintained his grip on Alec, whose feet couldn't make contact with the floor anymore.
Jondy's jaw dropped. Alec's expression went from astonishment to panic. Zack was all cold anger.
"You better listen good cuz I'm only gonna say it once" he didn't wait for Alec's response.
Not that the X5 could give him any; besides, hovering several inches above the floor, Alec was pretty much all ears.
Suddenly, Jondy seemed to recover the power of speech. She rushed towards them and applied a strong pressure on Zack's cybernetic enhanced arm in an attempt to make him drop Alec, in vain.
"Zack, cut it out! What the hell d'you think you're doing?"
"Stay out of this Jon" Zack spoke coldly never releasing Alec from his gaze.
Jondy took a step back, holding her breath.
"The first time I heard you were harassing my girl, I didn't say anything cuz there was no way for you to know where you stand. But today, I'm gonna make sure you do. Stop stalking Noah" he spoke that last sentence, his breath hot on Alec's face, "Is that clear?" he added his tone rising in anger and mashing Alec against the wall one more time.
Jondy took a step forward and hiding her fear of Zack's temper, she said:
"Zack, that's enough, he got it"
Zack still didn't let go, his cold blue eyes still locked on Alec.
"Zack, I said that he got it" she repeated just as firmly, her voice never betraying the shaking going on inside her.
Zack finally let go: Alec crashed to the floor, one hand on his chest, grasping for breath.
Jondy was on her knees in seconds, a hand on his back for support.
Zack spun around and started walking away. Alec was too stunned to say anything. Suddenly, Zack stopped dead in his tracks and Alec froze in apprehension.
Zack turned his head, giving Alec and Jondy his profile, though never looking at them directly.
"One more thing. Don't mess with my sister either"
And without further explanations, he turned around the corner and was out of their sight.
Jondy helped Alec to his feet before asking:
"What was that all about? And which sister is he talking about?"
Alec coughed a few times before answering, his eyes still watering:
"I don't know"
Jondy opened her mouth to tell him to stop lying when she caught a glance at his hazel green eyes. While Alec often hid behind his trademark smirk, his eyes rarely lied. And right now, they were saying one thing: 'I really don't know'
-------------------
Admitting that you need help from one of your greatest rivals is unbearable.
And Donald Lydecker would probably never have done such a thing if the situation hadn't been what it was. But, Lou had been tortured, Brin was dead, Max was carrying the whole transgenic burden on her shoulders… it was time for him to act as well.
He had delayed this for far too long. He should have done it ages ago, when he had first made the link between Sandeman and the Familiar's cult.
Nearly twenty years ago, when Lydecker had been assigned to project Manticore, he had met the man, the lead scientist, the one and only genius and Lydecker had loathed the man the very second he had seen him.
At least, the feeling had been mutual. The two men understanding that the war for the head of the project would be taking place between the two of them, hadn't bothered becoming friendly. Lydecker had only known the man had a wife and two kids.
What had become of those kids? Lydecker now knew. Ames White was the eldest and showed a great dislike for his father. One thing that he shared with Lydecker but that didn't put them in the same boat. The other, a certain CJ according to Max, was probably still locked in a mental institute.
Under other circumstances, Lydecker would have pointed out the irony of the situation. CJ, in a mental institute for seventeen years… a common point with a father he probably barely remembered.
But now was the time to bring the old skeleton out of the cupboard and so, first thing in the morning, Lydecker was heading to Powell Institute, Colorado.
-------------------
Zack stepped into his room, closed the door behind him. Noah looked up from a book she had been reading.
"Hey, where've you've been?"
Zack didn't answer immediately. He slowly walked to the bed Noah was lying on. She brushed her hand against his arm in a concerned gesture.
"Noah? We've always been honest right?"
"On my part yeah" she said frowning and closing her book.
Zack didn't answer for a few seconds and Noah didn't dare say anything. She just kept scanning his face for clues of what was going on.
"Is there something going on between you and Alec?"
The question had been blurted out, like it had required super-human effort to formulate and it was all being thrown in one jet.
Noah's green eyes widened in disbelief then, a smile turned the corners of her full lips. It broadened and she uttered a laugh.
Zack however, wasn't finding it funny at all. He stood up, his back to her. She sat up and said:
"You're serious?"
He spun around, and seeing his facial expression, there was no doubting that he was.
"Where did you ever get such an idea?" she asked again.
"Doesn't matter. I would just like you to answer my first question" he said coldly.
"Of course, there isn't anything going on between me and Alec. God, this is sounding like some lousy pre-pulse teenage soap!" she scoffed.
"You sure? Never?"
"I think I'd remember! Not now, not ever!" Noah said indignantly.
Zack seemed to breathe more easily after that but he didn't seem fully comfortable all the same.
"Ever since we came back did he- you know- try anything?"
"You mean did he come onto me? And the answer is no. Alec's just being his normal arrogant self. I mean you know how he is. Girls can misinterpret the things that he says, but half the time, he doesn't mean them"
"Does he?"
"Course not. But he'd better be careful cuz someday, some girl's gonna read the signs all wrong and it might turn ugly for him"
"It might already have."
Noah's mouth dropped open at this. She got out of bed to face Zack.
"What have you done?"
Zack lowered his eyes and Noah swallowed hard.
"He's not back at the hospital wing, is he?"
"No" Zack finally said, "I merely set his ideas straight"
Noah turned around and started pacing the room.
"Who? Who told you?"
"Told me what?" Zack played stupid.
"I did have a conversation with Alec after diner and he might've been his usual arrogant self but I thought we were alone. I didn't hear anyone else in the hallway"
"That's maybe cuz you weren't paying attention"
"Maybe, but that doesn't tell me who it was?"
"Look, it was all a big misunderstanding so let's just fughedaboudit"
Noah stared at him, her arms crossed over her chest. She replayed the whole conversation in her head. She had gone to diner earlier to avoid Logan. The others were supposed to either be in the television room or private rooms or in the cafeteria. Alec had come from the rooms upstairs and she had come from the cafeteria. The third hallway led to the hospital wing.
There were only two people in there. Max and Lou. And if Logan had stopped harassing her it probably was because Max had found him before he could find her… so that only left out one person and it made perfect sense for it to be that person.
Noah smiled and sighed in exasperation. No wonder this sounded like some lousy pre-pulse teenage soap… it was the doing of one! And Zack had fallen head first for it. She turned to him, hands on her hips.
"There's something we gotta discuss"
Zack looked at her suspiciously.
"It's called trust"
-------------------
End of Chapter
"So come on, click, click, click people! This fic needs some encouragement, the computer is not writing it all by itself! Click, click, click!" Roxy said in a very Normal-like way.