Freedom on the inside
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own anything to do with Dark Angel. They apparently belong to some guy who is most definitely in need of a brain check. What was he thinking when he decided to axe the show? Oh well, I guess when I'm rich enough I'll just have to buy the rights to the programme and then we'll finally get a third season. I wouldn't count on it though.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: M/A (eventually!)
Summary: What if Max never escaped Manticore in 'Designate This' and didn't get the chance to infect Logan? Logan and everyone else in Seattle thinks she's dead and Renfro's still alive?
Author's Note: I know there's been a lot of 'what if she never escaped stories?' but this is my shot at what could have happened. Please read and review!
Chapter Thirty Two
Letting Go
"Alec!" Max screamed as she lunged forwards on to the floor beside the still body. The name had been ripped from the base of her throat, yet still she had not heard herself say it. The rest of the room fell silent: injuries temporarily forgotten, the plight to battle the remaining familiars also forgotten. Those familiars, who were left, slid defeated to the ground as their leader and inspiration lay dead in a pool of his own blood. But it was not the remorse of his death that they felt; moreover it was the remorse of the death of their enemy that hit them like an ice cold freight train.
"Alec," Max whispered as her fingers ran down the side of his face. She tapped once, twice on his cheek; her entire body wracking with suppressed sobs. All conceivable logic was lost on her as she sat frozen not knowing what to do. She didn't even feel Ginger's strong hand latch on to her shoulder as she came to stand beside her. Max watched as her creamy hand snaked its way around Alec's neck, searching, hoping, praying for a pulse.
And she found it.
"He's got a pulse!" she screamed. Not wasting time in her jubilant discovery, Ginger shouted orders for medical assistance, whilst Max sat gripping Alec's lifeless hand barely daring to entertain the thought of losing him. He was going to make it. He had to make it.
After pulling some strings, Renfro had managed to find an emergency airlift back to Manticore. An ambulance ride from Vancouver to Seattle would never have been fast enough for Alec, but Renfro had connections in strange places and for that Max was eternally grateful.
As she paced outside the Manticore infirmary, she reminded herself to thank Renfro later; if Alec made it. He had better get through this alive or she'd be kicking his ass from here to god knows where if he didn't. Her fighting resolve had returned to her once the doctors had shared their cautious optimism concerning Alec's condition, but she was duly warned that it was still very much touch and go.
The drugs that had been pumped through his bloodstream were wreaking havoc with his internal organs as he had for so long fought against their effects. The gunshot wound together with the many other bodily blows had lost him a large amount of blood. It was an uphill struggle ever since he had entered the operating theatre over three hours ago now.
Ginger was seated quietly behind her as she walked up and down the length of the small corridor. "They should be done by now," Max muttered aloud. Frustrated, she marched back up to the shut double doors leading to the infirmary, but was forced to take a step backwards as the doors opened and both Lydecker and Renfro emerged from the other side. Ginger stood up as Max unleashed a barrage of questions,
"How is he? Is he ok? Can I see him?"
Lydecker motioned for Max's silence,
"He's still weak," he answered, "They've managed to stop the internal bleeding but he's still susceptible to liver and kidney failure. They currently have him on dialysis to pump out the remains of the drug, but he should regain consciousness when it's over."
Renfro smiled genuinely for what may have been the first time ever, "You can go in and see him."
"Thank you," Max nodded surprised with the ease with which the words escaped her lips. She turned back to watch as Renfro and Lydecker moved away from the doors and walked back down the corridor. Ginger stood a few metres behind flashing Max an encouraging smile. Taking the encouragement, Max tentatively pushed the doors open and slowly walked through.
The first thing her eyes swept over was the frighteningly pale skin that covered his bruised body. He looked so delicate with the masses of needles and wires weaving in and out. His right arm lay hooked up to the dialysis machine; blood being carried from his veins to the machine and back again. It was a risky yet necessary procedure but Max found her reassurance once she touched his skin. His palms were ever so slightly warmer than they had been in the warehouse and that was reassurance enough.
Leaning over, she gently touched her lips to his forehead before sitting herself down on the seat beside him. All she could do now was wait.
Renfro sat quietly in her office seat watching the man, her supposed enemy, staring blankly out the window. There were many things one could call Lydecker but Renfro was no longer sure that 'enemy' was one of them. They had worked well together the last few months, the united goal of tracking down and eliminating White, having helped a fair bit. Now it was done, she was unsure of what to do next. The threat from the familiars was far from over, they had only leapt across one stepping stone, but yet a White-free world was better than no advance at all,
"So what now?" she asked into the silent room.
Lydecker turned back to stare at the blond haired woman, "We wait," he said.
"What about 452 and 494?"
The old colonel sighed, "We let them go."
"The death of one leader will not stop the masses. This is a cult that has been going on for generations; it's far from over. We still need them," Renfro argued.
"And they will not live forever," Lydecker retorted as he came to sit down across from Renfro. "It takes a little faith to get a little back. We showed them leniency once and they delivered, we show it to them again, and once again they will deliver. I am in no way denying that another rising will come. In fact, there are only two things we can be certain of: one, that the familiars will rise again and two, that Max, Alec and the rest of the transgenics will forever be loyal to at least the human race, if not Manticore. And so, I say we let them go."
He felt like some ethereal being floating mid air as consciousness seeped its way through. Everything was so light and hazy. Loud could be another way to describe it, but sifting through the noise, one familiar voice stood out as clear as the crystal clear waters of Norway. It was her voice alone that gave him strength to open his tired, lead laden eyes.
"Alec?" Max called delight erupting at the pit of her stomach as his eyes started to flutter. And sure enough with all the will power he could muster, Alec had his hazy hazel green eyes open a mere second later.
The smile was instantaneous as her eyes fixed upon his.
"Hey," Alec croaked as he adjusted himself to the room but more importantly the sight in front of him.
Reaching up, Max ran a hand through his tangled hair before pulling away and unexpectedly punching him hard on his upper arm.
"OW!" Alec moaned, his face screwing up in pain, "What the hell did you do that for?"
Yep, he was back again amongst the living.
Max stood up, her eyes moist with unshed angry tears, "Don't you ever do that to me again!"
"Nice," Alec muttered, "See I thought I was going to get a nice party once I got back. And maybe an 'oh I missed you so much Alec!'" he mimicked, "Or maybe an 'I was so worried about you Alec,' and, 'oh I love you so much-'"
Max punched him again, half heartedly,
"Jeez Max, I may usually be a man of steel but now I'm fragile – F-R–A-"
Max stopped him in his tracks as she leant down and captured his lips. Parting slightly she looked down into his shocked child-like stare. There was a short silence before Alec opened his mouth in question, "J?" he whispered.
She couldn't help herself, the smile if it hadn't already been wide enough, widened another several centimetres. Moving completely away, though she sure as hell didn't want to, she sat herself down on the seat beside his bed. There were some answers she needed first,
"How did you manage it?"
"Huh?" Alec asked still slightly dazed, either from the kiss or the surgery, he wasn't sure.
"I mean, the drug, how did you stay sane?"
"I dunno, I didn't I guess."
"But, you're still-"
"Me?"
Max nodded.
"I wasn't 'me' all the time. There were points at which I thought I'd never get to the surface but I guess there was always someone there to pull me back up."
"Who?" Max asked already knowing who.
"Renfro," Alec deadpanned.
Max scowled, and whacked him hard; it seemed the drugs hadn't affected his sense of humour in any way.
Alec smirked, "Who do you think, Maxie?"
Max sidetracked the question, "I'm glad you hung on."
"Yeah," his face became serious as another question loomed on the tip of his tongue but he failed to get it out as he was interrupted by another familiar voice,
"Hey you're awake."
Looking passed Max, Alec caught a glimpse of ginger hair. Her face became clearer as she came to stand beside Max.
"How's it going sir?" Ginger emphasised the 'sir', clearly ironically,
Alec rolled his eyes, "You can drop the 'sir' Ginge."
"It's good to see you."
"Right back atchya. How's things? How's Josh?"
"Things are good and I'm on my way to see the big fella now."
"Say hi."
"Will do," patting Max on the shoulder, Ginger made a swift exit.
The room fell into an awkward silence as they were once again left alone. The atmosphere, however, was still as charged as it had been prior to Ginger's visit, perhaps even more so.
Alec gulped inaudibly, "Soo . . . ?" he started.
Max laughed at the slow delivery, "Soo . . . what?"
"So how's things?" he repeated the same question he had asked Ginger but this time he was asking something different and Max knew exactly what it was. Getting back up, she closed the virtually non-existent gap between herself and Alec and kissed him briefly on the lips before pulling away so that their faces were merely an inch apart,
"What sort of things?" she asked grinning mischievously.
"Like life?"
She kissed him again,
"Ok I guess."
"Jeez Max are you gonna make me spell it out? Now we both know I can't spell to-"
She kissed him for slightly longer this time, before pulling back,
"It's over," she answered.
"Over," Alec repeated, the word sinking slowly into his head. He paused for a second before grinning, "Hmm, I'd say life's more than ok then." Snaking his hand around her head, he pulled her lips back down on to his in a long awaited, much deliberated, passionate kiss.
Unbeknownst to the two transgenics, a smiling Lydecker flipped the microphone switch to off before following Renfro out of her office.
A/N 2: Apologies for the long wait, I did warn you though! Lol! My exams aren't over til the end of June and plus my internet's playing up, but I will try to get the LAST chapter up as soon as possible. Yep you read right, my tale has very nearly come to an end (I'm gonna cry!), would you believe that this story has taken nearly over a year to write? Wow! Thank you so so much to all those who reviewed the last chapter, I'm not listing you all personally today cos my aim is to get this up asap, but your reviews mean so much to me. Keep reviewing and letting me know what you thought of this chapter – yes I know it was a bit on the sappy side but after all the tension and drama, I thought a bit of fluff was in order! Hope you enjoyed reading it,
Loadsa love SmilinStar xxx