DISCLAIMER: Dark Angel doesn't belong to me. I'm really just a bum who fell in love with Alec one day and decided to make him a hero.

A/N: Here's the next installment of this crazy not-so-stand-alone fic. I still don't know where I'm headed, so…I dunno, inspire me?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Strong arms were pulling him away from her. He struggled to fight to stay close to her. But there were insistent hands, fingers pressing against pressure points to force him to let go. Their efforts only made him clutched her harder.

Beeeep.

The sound of the heart monitor was nothing more than a background noise now. It was completely dulled by the roar of pain rushing through him. Max had died. Max was dead. They were taking her away from him now. "No! Let me go!"

"Alec! We need to get to her right now!"

Beeeep.

The sharp noise was incessant. He wanted to drown it out completely. He opened his mouth, but nothing but an anguished wail came out. Suddenly, Alec felt a prick on his shoulder. He felt something cold run through his arm followed by a wave of dizziness.

His vision blurred and his arms involuntarily dropped Max. He staggered backwards, belatedly realizing that the doctors were trying to revive her. Finally, he let himself be pushed to the side of the room, as the tranquilizer worked through him. At least, the beeping sound was gone.

He refused to be downed by the chemical in his body. He forced himself to relax and let it run through him. With bleary eyes and a hazy mind, he watched helplessly as they pulled out the defibrillator.

"Clear!" called Doctor Evans as he placed the two paddles over Max's chest. The shock ran through her body. It spasmed, but fell lifelessly back onto the bed.

"Charge! Clear!"

Still nothing.

Alec closed his eyes, unable to look at the scene before him. He didn't even realize that tears had started to fall until it trickled down his neck. "Max…" he whispered achingly.

Suddenly, the heart monitor beeped. All eyes fell on it. Another beep. Another heartbeat.

Alec felt his own heart thundering in his chest. She was alive! He watched as the doctors checked her vital statistics.

Suddenly, Alec's head slumped heavily against the wall that he had been leaning against. His knees gave way as he finally let the tranquilizer do its job. He fell bonelessly onto the floor, but he was still conscious. The dose hadn't been enough to completely knock him out.

"She's stable, Alec." said Dr. Evans, crouching down to face him. He placed a warm, reassuring hand on the Transgenic's shoulder. "She's not in a coma. Just unconscious. She'll wake up soon. Tell me, son, what happened?"

Alec shook his head. "She just said she was tired. She just closed her eyes."

Dr. Evans nodded. "I see."

Alec glanced sharply over at the doctor. There had been something in his tone of voice that alarmed him. "What is it, Doc? What aren't you telling me?" He was already starting to come out of the tranq-induced haze. The good doctor was learning quickly about transgenics, it seemed. Especially just the required dosage to tranq one for a few minutes.

"Hmm?" Dr. Evans glanced up from looking over Max's charts.

"What's happening to Max?" demanded Alec.

"Trauma," sighed the doctor. His blue eyes bore directly into Alec's green ones. His eyes were kind, if somewhat sad. "Sometimes, trauma patients don't wake up even though their bodies are completely healed and they should."

Alec's gaze fell onto Max. Her chest was rising steadily with each breath. She looked sad, even in her sleep. He walked over to her and pushed her hair back from her face. "So, how do I wake her up?"

"Nobody knows." Replied the doctor. "This isn't science anymore, Alec. This is beyond my hands. Some people in psych think it boils down to a person's will to live."

Alec suddenly felt bone-tired. Drained. Max had lost her will to live. She hadn't died, but she had still found a way to leave him behind. "Thanks, Doc," he sighed wearily.

Dr. Evans shook his head sadly at the young transgenic. He watched as Alec struggled to get up, pushing himself against the wall. It was still amazing how fast transgenics could recover. He motioned for a couple of the nurses to help the young man.

Alec glared at them, but wisely allowed them to pull a chair close to Max and deposit him onto it. He sat on the chair and rested his head on her bed.

Dr. Evans eyed the almost heart-breaking scene. They were both so young, he realized with a start. It was a startling insight because they acted like they had lived five lifetimes. He shook his head. Maybe they had. He reached over and gave Alec's shoulder a quick comforting squeeze.

Despite the fact that Max's body had healed at a phenomenal rate, Dr. Evans realized that at the heart of it all, even transgenics needed a reason to live. They were only human, after all. "Give her a reason, Alec," he whispered. "Give her a reason to live."

Alec raised his head and looked at the doctor who was smiling kindly at him. He nodded and the doctor left Max's room, closing the door softly behind him. Alec turned his attention back to Max. He took her limp hand in his and stroked it.

"Max…" he whispered. He struggled with what to say to her. He let his eyes wander over her pale face. A muscle worked spasmodically in Alec's throat as he tried to get the words from his heart out into the open. He opened his mouth again to say something, but no words came out.

He shut his eyes as tears of futility rolled down his face. He didn't know if his love was reason enough for her to live. He didn't know if she'd even want it. He opened his eyes again and realized that her breathing had become shallower, almost imperceptible.

"Don't, Max!" he whispered achingly, clutching her hand. "Don't die!" He found the pulse on her wrist and kept his fingers on it, knowing that the thready but steady rhythm was the only anchor he had to his sanity. And suddenly, it was like he couldn't stop talking.

"Don't leave me, Max," he begged. "Just don't leave! God, there are a thousand things I want to tell you. I love you. You know that, right? No, I didn't think so. But how can I tell you that if you don't wake up for me? So you have to wake up. You just have to."

"Are you listening to me, Max?" he cajoled. "Do you know why I love you? Do you know why I need you to stay with me? You have to understand why you can't leave me..." he continued, somehow convinced that if he could make her listen and understand him, she would stay.

"Listen, I wouldn't have survived this long without you, Max. You gave me a reason to be. Don't think for a second that I wouldn't have been nothing but a half-assed hero without you. My life wouldn't have had a purpose. I might have just been like…" he choked on the words. "…like Ben."

There was no response from her. And Alec laid his head against her hand, letting his tears fall onto her palm. He was tired and heartbroken, but he continued. "Maxie, you wouldn't let me be like Ben." he whispered. "There were so many times when I could have gone the other way, but you held on to me. No, actually, you let me hold on to you. And I just can't let you go right now!"

Suddenly he looked up at her, his eyes blazing with impotent fury. "Max!" he all but shouted at her. "Wake up, dammit!"

He was switching tactics, driven by anger and grief. "If you die, you know what I'll do? Know what'll happen to me? I'm gonna go and live up to being the screw-up that I was. I'm gonna get myself shot in the ass. How about that? I'm gonna go and drink myself to death. I'm gonna go and sleep with every blonde girl I can find. And I'm gonna…I'm gonna…" he tapered off, running out of steam. Finally, he just sighed, "Please, just wake up."

She was still unresponsive.

An hour of cajoling, begging, pleading for her to wake up and stay with him passed. His voice was rough and raw with use and emotion. For once in his life, Alec was actually tired of talking.

He sat in the hospital room, clutching Max's hand in his. He didn't know what else to do or to say. He laid his head down on her bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alec woke up to a stiff neck and aching shoulders. He groaned as he lifted his head off the bed. His eyes wandered over to Max's face. She looked so young and tired. The steady rise and fall of her chest told Alec that she was still hanging in there.

"Alec?" the rough voice startled him. He was exhausted and burned out that he had missed the nearly seven-foot dog-man standing in the doorway.

He smiled tiredly at his friend. "Hey, Joshua," he greeted.

Joshua shuffled painfully into Max's room. The war had severely injured Joshua's left leg that he limped painfully. "Is…is Little Fella gonna be okay?"

Alec looked back towards Max and shrugged. "She's alive," he said simply.

"But not okay." Confirmed Joshua. He placed a large hand on Alec's shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. Alec nodded in acknowledgement. "She woke up two days ago."

Joshua was instantly alert. His blue eyes fell on Max's pale, lifeless face. She didn't look any different from the last time he had been here. "She wake up for Big Fella right now?" he asked, hopefully.

Alec shook his head. "Doc says she's supposed to be conscious by now, but she's not coming around." He shrugged dejectedly, not really understanding the implications of Max's condition.

"Max afraid." Said Joshua simply. Alec always wondered where Joshua took his insights from. It was as if the large transhuman saw everything differently. More colorful in some ways, darker in others.

Alec just nodded sadly. "She thought I was Ben. She couldn't remember everything. But she remembered everyone who had died." He said, his voice no more than a sad whisper. "She barely remembered me," he choked out. Suddenly, he was pulled roughly against the large transhuman's chest.

Alec stiffened briefly, unused to such a show of tenderness. But in the next instant he found himself returning the hug fully. He wrapped one fisted hand around his friend, the other clenched tightly over Joshua's chest as if ready to pound out his grief. He lifted it and dropped it slowly against his friend. His knuckles were white from the sheer force of clenching, his nails digging into his palms. He leaned his forehead on his friend's shoulder, unable to look Joshua in the eye as his body shook with the force of keeping his emotions inside. "I just don't know what else to do, Josh," he whispered through clenched teeth.

Joshua held his shaking friend tightly. It was terrifying to see Alec fight so hard to keep everything inside. Finally, Alec pushed away from him and looked up. He tried to smile, but the expression broke halfway through, his lips twisting into a grimace, instead. "Thanks, Buddy, I didn't think I needed that, but…"

"It's okay, Alec," assured Joshua. "It's okay to feel."

This time Alec really smiled. His expression loosened, the lips lifting up a bit, even if the smile didn't touch his eyes, it was something. "Yeah, well, I must've missed that memo."

Joshua patted his friend heavily on the back, recognizing the effort it took for Alec to maintain his easy-going persona. "Joshua stay with Max. Alec should go rest."

"No, Josh, I'll stay, too." He said. He didn't want to miss a thing in case Max woke up…or slipped away.

Joshua shook his head of shaggy hair. He sniffed the air and said decisively, "Alec should clean-up."

Alec chuckled ruefully. "I guess I could use a shower." He ran a hand over his face tiredly. He looked around the sparse hospital room. He had practically lived in this room for the last two months, coming and going. He felt a heavy weight of depression and hopelessness suddenly fall on his shoulders. Two months was a long time, and he didn't know how long he could keep on doing this.

He turned to lean over Max and place a soft kiss on her forehead. "Wake up for me, Maxie," he whispered. "Please." He added, as an afterthought, in case Max really could hear him. The thought made him smile—one that almost resembled his smart-alecky grin. "You heard it, Max. I said 'please'."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alec was back again by nightfall. In the hospital room with Max, time had felt like it didn't exist. Everything was at a standstill and all that mattered was him and Max. But as soon as he stepped out of the hospital, he had felt a sudden sense of time passing.

Things had to be taken cared of. Life still went on.

Alec stepped into Max's room and smiled sadly. Joshua was an almost comical sight, his body folded into a small chair. Joshua twitched as Alec came closer, his enhanced senses immediately picking up the new presence. His blue eyes cracked open and he smiled at Alec. "Alec," he greeted in his deep voice.

"Any change, Josh?" he asked, half-hopeful and half-afraid.

Joshua stretched his long body as he stood up. He shook his shaggy head. "No, Alec. Little Fella still sleeping deeply."

Alec sighed and nodded once. He finally let his eyes fall onto Max's still figure. He didn't know how long he stood there, just looking at her. She didn't even look like Max anymore. She was much too thin, her cheeks gaunt and hollowed, the arm lying on her side nothing more than a thin rail. Her hair was limp and tangled. Her skin that had once glowed bronze was now dulled by a grayish pallor. Her full lips were pale and cracked. Her brown eyes that used to shoot fire at him were now sunken and ringed with shadows.

He felt a shroud of darkness fall over him at the sight. He was afraid. Simple as that.

He was afraid that this…stranger…lying in the bed was all that was left of Max. He was afraid that no matter how hard he tried to coax her back, that there was no one there to bring back. Max was gone…

"Alec, talk to her," said Joshua. Alec looked up, ripped from his dark reverie. "I've tried that, Josh." He replied bitterly. "She never listened to me before, she won't listen to me now."

Joshua cocked his head at him. "Alec just giving up then?" he asked pointedly. "Max woke up before, she can wake up again."

Alec couldn't look Joshua in the eye. How could he explain to his friend that when she woke up, he hadn't been able to save her? That he had let her slip right through his fingers? That he hadn't been enough of a reason to live for?

How could he explain to Joshua that he had cried and begged for her to come back, but that still wasn't enough? How?

"She's X5. She's strong. She's Max." insisted Joshua, his voice rough but gentle.

Was that really still Max? He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream at Joshua that she was gone. Max was gone, and that person in the bed was just a body. Alec clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt. It took that much effort to keep the bitterness from pouring out of him like poison.

"Alec, she listens to you."

Alec gave Joshua an angry disbelieving look. "Now, don't go lying to me, Josh." He drawled. "It just ain't pretty."

Joshua frowned, a little bit stung by Alec's casual sarcasm. He had seen the sudden change in Alec since he had walked into the room. He could feel the coldness now emanating from him.

He moved over to stand right in front of his friend and forced the younger man to look up to him. "Max always listened to Alec. Max needed Alec always. Just like Alec needs Max now. She…she…" he stammered a bit, his emotions making it difficult to string words together. "She needs you most. After Siege. Before the War. In the War. She needed you."

Alec swallowed hard, past the lump in his throat. "I failed her."

Joshua grabbed a hold of Alec's shoulders and shook him. "NO!" he practically roared.

Alec responded to that by pushing Joshua away forcefully. He glared at his friend, not caring that Joshua completely outclassed him when it came to sheer strength. "Look at her, Josh. Look at her!" he said, his voice rising. "Tell me that's not failing her! Huh? Tell me that's not her giving up on us! Tell me!"

Joshua growled, but didn't retaliate against the angry shove. Joshua looked at Max, and suddenly, all the tension just left him. "Remind her, Alec," he said gruffly. "Remind her that she has…family."

With that, Joshua pushed past his friend going towards the door, limping, shoulders sagging. He knew that his X5 friends needed to be alone. Max would only listen to Alec now, because Alec was her best reason to live. But they both had to believe that, and right now, it seemed like both of his friends had lost hope.

"Max will die, Alec," he said simply, not even looking over his shoulder. "If you don't remind her why she fought so hard in the war to begin with."

Alec watched as the beam of light from the hall became smaller until the door clicked shut and all that was left was a faint outline. He felt just like that—where hope was nothing more than a faint outline of what used to be something so bright. How could he remind her when he no longer remembered himself?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N2: So obviously, I decided not to let Max die just yet. Please read and review. I really need a lot of pushing to get this one going. It's not even written in the same vein as the other chapters…bring me back my inspiration…I'm blaming hunger pangs for the different style of this chapter…I have to lose weight for a tournament and I'm not happy…tsk, tsk, tsk. I hope you guys didn't suffer too much.