Disclaimer: I am not making any profit out of this and am using it purely for amusement. The scenes are taken completely out of an episode of Dark Angel (which belongs to Fox, Cameron and Eglee), and most of the dialogue as well.

A/N: The parts that are mine are the "thoughts" behind the scenes and some additional dialogue. This is my version of Hello, Goodbye—one of my favorite DA episodes. It's a step into AU, but that's really what fanfics are, aren't they?

CHAPTER 11

They went to her apartment. Alec couldn't exactly go back to his place. After the cops discovered that he was gone, they were sure to stake his place out.

All was quiet inside; Original Cindy, Max's roommate, had decided to stay the night at one of her lady friends' pads. Max knew that she could always count on OC to understand the subtleties of being the best friend of a genetically engineered supersoldier. If a something was underfoot, it was best for OC to know as little as possible. Max knew that Original Cindy didn't need a reminder of how dangerous it can be to be connected to Max and anything related to her past.

"Max," Alec's deep voice broke the silence between them. They had not spoken a word since sliding down the drain pipe and driving away from the gunshots the cops had aimed at their retreating figures. "Thanks for busting me outta there." Alec's tone was sincere—uncommon for him.

And just like his mercurial personality, he chuckled quietly, "So, the thing that's got me worried is I can't exactly use 'Well, I was locked up in a secret government facility,' as my alibi." He quipped, leaning against the frame of one of the windows.

"Guess not." She called out from her bedroom.

"Yeah really, y'know?" he asked ruefully, his tone tinged with just a little bit of regret.

Max walked out of her room, dressed in a sweatshirt and yoga pants. She glanced over at him. He was still standing by her window, his shoulder propped casually against the side. Max knew better than to be fooled by his casual stance. She knew that he was keenly aware of everything that was happening down the street. He was keeping a look-out.

"Maybe Logan could pull one of his little—" he paused. "Oh My God! Logan!" He shot off the wall, suddenly utterly serious. "Is he alright?" He had completely forgotten that Logan had gotten sick from his brief contact with Max at Crash. The virus was designed to kill within 24 hours. Alec glanced quickly at his watch. Approximately 28 hours had passed since that moment in Crash.

"He's fine. Joshua came through for him." Max replied. Her tone was light.

A little too light.

"Oh, good." Alec walked over towards the kitchen where Max was, glad that there was no drama and crisis. "I swear, Max, I was on my way to do all within my power to save our dear old friend when I got busted. But, I'm sure Josh was probably the better choice. Logan could use a little canine plasma to loosen him up." he quipped, smiling widely as if he's just delivered the punchline from a witty joke.

Max just frowned at him, before turning away to rummage for some coffee in the kitchen. She remained quiet.

"Just kidding, Max. Come on. You know I love Logan."

He smiled mischievously, "I mean, not the way YOU love him, but he's a loveable fella. Underneath that academic, save-the-world-exterior beats the heart of true gold."

He paused when all he could get from her was a dirty look. "Well, he's okay, right?" asked Alec, his tone reassuring. He was also probing.

Max gave him a tight smile, and a small nod. She hoped he would drop the subject.

Alec was beginning to worry about the lack of response he was getting from her. With the amount of baiting he was doing, he should have been in for a whale of a beating from her. But…nothing. He sighed. He was going to have to be nice. "So, what's the problem?"

Max exhaled away her impatience. Why did he suddenly have to act like he cared? It wasn't like Logan was his best friend. Oh well, Alec was going to find out sooner or later anyway. "I'm not gonna see him anymore," she explained.

There was a heartbeat's pause as Alec tried to digest what she had just said. His traitorous heart had leapt at her admission. "Anymore this week?" he asked, needing some clarification.

"Ever." She said, not bothering to look up from the coffee she was stirring inside the pan. She had expected a big tirade from Alec, but got none. She finally looked up, only to find him staring intently at her, a strange look on his face. It was almost…tender. She brushed the thought away.

"I can't risk it," she explained to him, her voice holding a finality that showed that she really meant it. There was that look on his face again that Max really couldn't decipher. It better not be pity. And it definitely better not be smugness. She gave him a warning look. "And I don't wanna hear an 'I told you so,'" she said tightly.

Alec just shook his head, his eyes sincere, "No, I wasn't going to." he said quietly.

They were silent for a while. Alec just watched as Max bustled along in the kitchen. He didn't really know what to say. Part of him was upset for her. He knew how much she cared about Logan. It was like watching a painful Romeo and Juliet drama unfolding daily in front of his eyes, those two. But part of him was relieved, too. He knew it was dangerous for them to be involved with others who weren't like themselves. He wanted to spare Max the pain of losing someone she loved. He knew first hand how debilitating the pain could be. And well, another part of him was wickedly ecstatic. He squelched that part, knowing it had no place in this time and conversation. It had no place in…maybe ever.

"Coffee?" she offered, her voice sounding overly bright and strained, breaking the fragile silence between them.

He ducked his head, hoping she hadn't seen any revealing looks in his eyes, and scratched his barcode. "Yeah, sure."

Max looked at Alec as she was pouring him a cup. He was doing that thing he did when he was nervous. He was fidgeting with his fingers, looking at his nails, probably wanting to bite them. She was amused at the thought. She was also startled to realize that she had actually accumulated enough knowledge about Alec to say that she knew him. Not just as an acquaintance, but as someone who was part of her life. It was a thought that almost left her breathless. When had he become a part of her life anyway?

"Listen, since we're already wading knee-deep in painful subjects," he said softly, fighting to keep his tone even. He was looking at his fingers still, unable to look her in the eye. Finally, he looked up, "Tell me about him. About Ben. The way you knew him. What was he like?"

Max's breath caught in her throat. Her mind was in turmoil, her heart was racing. She clenched her teeth against the painful memories that suddenly assailed her. She picked up the coffee pot, banging a few other pots in the process. She contemplated how to answer the unexpected request.

Normally, she would have just dismissed his comments. It was usually so easy to brush Alec off, just simply because he was always so careful to just touch the surface of everything. Alec never dealt with any deep emotional entanglements. He always just seemed to bounce back from everything and maintain his happy-go-lucky smile, continue to make his sarcastic little quips, and move on.

But tonight, she knew that he deserved an answer. She knew that he couldn't make himself ask the question again.

Max took a deep breath. She saw a flashback of Ben as they'd been, sitting in the barracks of her unit. He'd always had such a wide, sweet smile. He had only been eleven, then. She had been nine. "When we were kids back at Manticore…" she started, but stopped, her needing to steady herself from the onslaught of memories. "He always wanted answers for everything. You know, why we were there, and what was outside."

Alec listened intently. There was a catch in her voice, and her hands shook as she poured coffee into her own mug. She raised her dark brown eyes to him. They were looking at him with heartbreaking tenderness. But they were distant, as if she were seeing something else, a memory superimposed over his own features.

"So, he would make up these fantastic stories to explain things," she continued, a small smile lifting her lips. "Somehow it made us all feel…loved. Like we weren't all alone."

She saw the memory of her, lying on his bed, late one night. Moonlight filtered through the windows as he kneeled by her, making shadow puppets for her. He had always done that for her, comforted her in her darkest moments. And loved her in her best.

Alec was getting uncomfortable with the way Max was looking at him. Like he was a ghost. He rolled his shoulders slightly to uncoil the tension. "Sounds like a nice kid. What went wrong?" He was a little bit more callous than he had intended, but the way Max looked at him…it wasn't right.

But what was worse, was that he was getting this insane feeling that he was jealous of his twin…because he knew that Max had looked at Ben with the love and tenderness that were shining in her eyes at the moment.

Suddenly, Max's expression changed, darkened. "After we escaped…it was like there were too many things in this world he didn't have answers for."

She was assaulted by a flashback of Ben, as an adult.

We never should have left.

Everything made sense there.

Ben had been Zack's SIC. He had known his role in their Unit. He had known who his family was. He had known how to take care of them. He had known how to love them. Especially Max. He had known how to love Max.

Max shook her head away from the damning memories. She looked at Alec, but didn't quite see him. "I don't know. He just…lost it." She whispered, almost to herself.

She turned around. Turned her back on Alec. Unable to look at him because he looked like Ben.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied quickly. But she didn't turn around. Instead, she sat on a stool, her back still towards him.

Alec had a painful, twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was like he could feel the pain Max was radiating. He walked around the counter that separated them, and leaned against it, staying just slightly behind her, in case she still didn't want to look at him. He understood. She didn't need to explain how she couldn't face him just now.

"Max, what is it?"

"We were in the woods," she started, her voice distant and low, her eyes glazed over, as if looking inside and watching the memory unfurl itself in her head. The hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood on end at the memory. "He was hurt." Max didn't have to explain to Alec who had hurt Ben…and why. "Manticore was closing in on us."

Alec's throat constricted. He could feel his heart race. Max was staring away, but he could see the fine tremors that ran through her body.

"He didn't want to go back there." She whispered.

Alec clenched his jaw. He understood only too well what Manticore had in store for his twin. "Reindoctrination." He confirmed quietly. "Or worse."

"I killed him." she said simply.

Alec flinched and his knees almost buckled from the sheer weight of the emotions that crashed into him. He stared at Max as if seeing her for the first time. She was shaking slightly from side to side, as if trying to rock away the horror.

"He asked me to. So, I did." She continued. He didn't try to stop her. He knew that she needed to say the words. That she needed to say everything that was weighing inside of her. "And then I ran. I saved myself. And I just left his…body there for them to take away." This time her voice broke, as huge tears spilled down her face.

Alec nodded slightly to himself. It finally made sense. It all finally made sense.

He tentatively wrapped one arm around her, shoving the other hand into his pocket. It surprised him to realize how small Max really was. She was always so strong and capable, that she always exuded a much bigger personality. But tonight, she was not the same girl.

He leaned over and pressed a kiss on her head—perhaps one of comfort, perhaps one of forgiveness. "Max, I'm sorry," he whispered, wishing he could speak for his dead twin.

"I killed him," she whispered achingly again. She raised her face to him. She had such a beautiful expressive face. Right now, her lips were trembling, a slight crease marred her brow, and those big brown eyes of hers were looking at him like they didn't know who he was. Maybe tonight, he realized, she had finally stopped seeing Ben's face, but finally saw him.

"It's all right," he whispered. "It's gonna be all right." He gathered her into his arms and let her cry against his chest, holding her close, letting the steady beat of his heart calm her.