Rating: PG

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairing: M/A

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Dark Angel and I have no money so suing me would be pointless.

Summary: You can't control what you hear; you can only pretend its not being said. How will Max cope when something becomes too real to ignore? M/A (as if I'd write anything else)

Sorry for the delay!

Chapter 8

"Alec..." Alec leaned in slowly and cut her off as he hovered just above her lips.

"Max, I love you." Then he sealed his words with the lightest sweetest of kisses which quickly turned passionate. Max sighed and ran her fingers down his cheek and along his jaw line. Alec pulled her hard against him and between them a strange heat began to grow.

The heat grew between them slowly at first then suddenly it shot through her skin starting over her heart and spreading threw every inch of her being. Max suddenly broke away from him confused by her bodies reaction. She looked up into the eyes of an equally confused Alec.

"Max?" he stepped closer to her again, he had felt the burning heat of her skin and even though he'd like to believe that it was just the effect he had on women, his gut told him something else was going on. Max stepped back again trying to get some air to her heated skin but her temperature was still rising. Her vision was beginning to get hazy and she was starting to panic.

"What's happening? Alec." She pleaded with him for answers but he had none. "I can't breath."

"Max?" Alec stepped forward and carefully touched her skin. It was red hot and clammy. He looked into her eyes to see them wide with panic. Her lids became heavy and she fell forward unconscious. Grabbing her in time Alec quickly gathered her up in his arms and ran for the medical centre as quickly as any transgenic could blur. This isn't happening he said to himself. Why can't anything be simple? why doesn't anything ever go right for me?

Bursting into the med-centre he shouted for the on call team to help him. Lymph the on call medic appeared quickly and ushered them both into the nearest available room. The head medic Lyphid was obviously in the meeting they had both now completely forgotten.

"What happened?" he asked with his usual uninvolved voice. As a medic who specialised in treating transgenics you had to be prepared for a lot and you could not afford to be emotional in anyway. Everyone was used to the cold and clinical mannerisms of the medic team, no one took it personally anymore. He put his gloves on and moved around the bed as Alec carefully lay his unconscious charge.

"I don't know, she's burning up and she's having trouble breathing." Lymph tested her temperature and listened to her heart rate. Alec watched as he tried to put the pieces together but his mind was to frazzled with worry and panic to come to any kind of sane conclusion.

"We need to get her core temperature down. Jab," Lymph addressed one of the near by medics who were lurking around curious as to what had befallen their illustrious leader. "Go get some ice packs. Quickly soldier, don't dawdle!" Jab nodded and disappeared down the hall.

"It just happened so suddenly, there was no warning or..." Alec mumbled to himself as he grazed his fingers over Max's limp wrist.

"What were you doing when it happened?" Lymph asked glancing up from his patient. Alec blushed slightly and hesitated from answering at first causing a curious glance from all those around. It was during this pause that Lymph noticed something else about the two transgenics that had just stumbled into his care. "Why are you bruised?"

"Max and I had a ... minor disagreement." Alec commented gingerly prodding his black eye that was finally beginning to fade.

"Minor." Lymph repeated clearly not in the mood for vague answers or coyness. He stared expectantly at Alec waiting for the rest of the details. Just then Jab returned with a few others carrying in an array of ice packs and they began to carefully lay them across Max's body. The shocking change of temperature was enough to rouse Max into consciousness.

"What's going on?" She croaked her eyes bright and confused. She made a move to get up but both Alec and Lymph stopped her.

"Don't move, we need to keep you as cool as possible." Max looked frightened and it unnerved Alec to no end. There were very few times when he had ever seen her so lost and afraid. She was his rock when he was unsure or lost about the world, he could only hope that he could do the same for her now.

"Max." Her eyes were drawn to him as he spoke and he took infinite comfort from the way she seemed to calm as their gazes locked. He took her hand. "It's ok, just keep calm."

"Alec." Lymph was getting more and more irritated as time went by. He had this feeling like they were wasting time they couldn't afford to waste. "What were you doing when this started?" Max looked a little sheepish this time. Alec had been thinking about this question ever since it was first put to him and he had been struck by the terrifying possibility that this was all his fault. He was afraid to find out but his fear for Max's safety overruled as it always eventually did.

"I kissed her." He said. If the medic was surprised he didn't show it. The others in the room however seemed to find it far more interesting and exchanged small smiles.

Lymph nodded soberly.

"Well in that case I suggest you stop touching her." Both Max and Alec's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Until we can establish the cause of this reaction, if that's what it is, you need to stop touching her in case you make it worse." Alec looked down at the hand he was holding and very reluctantly let it go. He looked into Max's eyes and was sure they were thinking the same thing. Max stared desperately at Alec in disbelief that fate could be so cruel and for a second time deprive her of contact with a man she loved. She couldn't dwell on this for long as a wave of cramping pain took hold of her and she lapsed into unconsciousness once again. Alec felt helpless standing there just staring at her.

"Alec, I think you should go. I need to do some tests and we need to get her isolated just in case. Also I'm going to need a blood sample from you, if it's contagious you might be infected." Alec didn't acknowledge him, he just kept on staring at Max. "Alec." Alec snapped to life again as he felt the medics hand on his shoulder in an uncharacteristic show of sympathy. Alec looked up at him trying to keep the swell of emotions inside him at bay. "Alec, there's a city to run and right now that's the only way you can help her." Alec took one last fleeting glance at the woman lying prone in the bed beside them before he turned and left. After letting Jab take some of his blood he got up and left the medical centre. He kept on walking down the hall trying to ignore the resonating sound of the door closing behind him. A sound that was too final for his liking.

Alec headed to HQ, he didn't feel like having a meeting right now, he'd much rather lock himself in his office and bury himself in paperwork. He sighed and closed his eyes a moment remembering the feel of her holding him so tightly, the taste of her mouth, the feel of her fingers in his hair and the shot of pure joy that ran threw him when she said those three little words to him. Right then in those few seconds he was happy, everything else had melted away. The past, the present and the future meant nothing, there was only him and her. He wanted that moment back so much it hurt. He wanted all this to be some kind of dream gone wrong, he'd rather wake up and find he was back at square one with Max than to have her suffering like she was now.

Alec didn't quite remember his trip over to the meeting room, he'd somehow reached it unconsciously. He opened the door but didn't step into the room instead he stood in the door way not really looking at anyone. Mole had been about to scold him for his tardiness but the lifeless look on the usually carefree transgenic stopped him.

"The meetings cancelled." He said and in the same breath he turned and exited again. The room was stunned into a confused silence. No one moved until Gem and Biggs giving each other a look got up together and followed him out and into his office. They entered to find him leaning on the front of his desk not facing them.

"Hey Alec, what's going on?" Biggs asked

"Has something happened?" Gem followed as Alec straightened up trying to loosen his bunching muscles.

"What happened to your face?"

"Max is in the infirmary." Alec replied levelly still refusing to look at either of them. Gem and Biggs looked at each other.

"What happened?" Gem asked gently approaching him. He was so tightly wound she was afraid to touch him in case he sprang lose.

"I don't know." Alec wasn't being very forth coming so Biggs who knew him better decided to try and push a little harder.

"Why is Max in the infirmary?" Alec's hands balled at his sides.

"She's...she's sick or something, I don't know."

"Were you attacked? Was it White? What's going on?"

"I don't know!" Alec shouted turning to them suddenly. His friends looked at him concerned. What ever was going on it had gotten him pretty freaked out. Alec straightened up and like a good Manticore soldier he buried his fears and slipped easily into the guise of the unmoveable, mission orientated 494. His friends looked on a little frightened by the transformation. With his emotions tucked away Alec began to refocus his energy. "She's being temporarily quarantined, we need to let people know that she is out of action but that everything continues as normal." Biggs nodded "I'll be taking over for now." Gem made to leave looking sadly at her former CO.

"Everything's going to be alright you know." With that she left, Biggs watched something flash across Alec's eyes.

"You should be with her, I bet she wants you there." Alec looked at him, his face a total blank but his eyes quivered ever so slightly. "If you need to go, just leave everything to me and Gem." After Biggs left Alec's legs buckled and he slipped to the floor feeling overcome by the situation and totally out of control. he knew this sort of self pity was pathetic and selfish, but if it turned out to be all his fault, he wasn't sure that he could live with himself.

A/N: Sorry, it has taken me so long to update, I've got a new job in a theatre and it takes up like all of my time. but here is the twist for you, as if Max and Alec were going to get it all that easily. So...What do you think? Read and Review, please. xxx