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)

Chapter 10

She pictured an endless white landscape so thick with snow that it covered everything hiding any landmarks from view. She perhaps entertained the idea of a few bare branches poking through the endless banks of snow as the last reminders of the land that used to be there. She tried to imagine herself there, happily laid out in the snow, letting it melt around her so she could gradually sink into its cooling oblivion. Max's temperature may have dropped to a safer level, but for her it still seemed like her blood had turned into lava making her uncomfortable in her own skin. She was finding it hard to sleep so she used every aversion technique manticore had begun to implant her with all those years ago. They had learned how to bare higher thresholds of pain and how to keep controlled during torture with certain mental aversion techniques. So it seemed logical to try the same devise with her current temperature control issues.

Her brow furrowed in increased concentration as she focused on the feeling of thick snow and transposing her own body heat into its clean cool surface. A cool breeze blew across her moving the hair from her forehead, and gently continued to massage her skin in a soothing way. She focused in on the feeling in her half slumbering state, realising that it was not in fact a manifestation of her imagination but belonged to something in the real world. Slowly the gesture roused her and her eyes flickered open only to shut immediately as she tried to adjust to the light. She had a feeling that it was not as piercingly bright as it felt to her. Her eyes came to rest on the figure beside her and she smiled lightly. Alec was sat at her bedside slowly stroking the hair from her face.

"Hey," Max whispered hoarsely, her throat was probably the driest part of her whole body.

"Hiya." Alec smiled brightly "How do you feel?"

"Like I fell into the sun, What happened?" She groaned shifting uncomfortably in her now clingy clothes.

"Do you want the step by step guide or the abridged version?" Max was getting slightly distracted by his hand stroking her face. It felt cool against her heated skin and prolonging the interaction tempted her to go for the longer facts and figures version of events. However, the migraine lurking in the back of her head made her decide otherwise.

"Abridged, I'm not really in the mood for a science lesson." Alec smirked "I take it from your grin that I'm not dying ... or am I?"

"You're not dying." Alec confirmed laughing at the suspicious look on her face, "In fact you're being cured. The anti-gen you needed to cure the genetically targeted retro virus was sitting in me all along. So when we decided to …err, swap fluids, it passed into you kicking your immune system into hyper drive and started neutralising the virus."

"Oh." Was all Max said at first not sure how to take the news. She looked back at Alec, he didn't seem nervous if that's indeed how he felt. He was being perfectly impassive and impossible to read, so she could not be sure how the news had affected him, or if had indeed affected him at all. She narrowed her eyes at him again. "So this is all your fault." She added indicating her current state of being.

"Pretty much." Alec smirked showing absolutely no remorse for the part he played what so ever. Max had made a quick evasion, moving to more familiar territory with Alec. Accusing him of ridiculous circumstances that couldn't really be construed as his fault. It felt safer than discussing other implications that the revelation brought. Max hadn't said anything about being cured and they were both aware of it. While she had been sleeping Alec had been mulling over it all. He knew Max well and was aware of her habit of doing the right thing by everyone else except herself. Which meant Logan was probably back in with a chance, but he was a soldier and he wouldn't go out without a fight.

"You know," he spoke softly "You really are very, very ... sweaty." Alec sighed dramatically and Max frowned.

"Then stop touching me you freak!" She batted his hand away showing her irritation. Alec chuckled.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Max's face suddenly lit up.

"Home?"

Alec nodded the affirmative, "The kind doctor says that you can go home so long as you rest up and stay off your feet for the next few days."

"What's the point then?" Max grumbled feeling annoyed, a feeling that seemed to be agitated by her body temperature. "I might as well stay here."

"Well at home you can be naked." Alec grinned wiggling his eyebrows.

"Alec you little ..." Max made a lunge forward trying to go for his throat but the sudden movement was too much, too quick for her body to keep up with and she collapsed backwards. Alec's cat reflexes allowed him to catch her neatly before she had gotten too far.

"Whoa! see, now you can't say you don't need it." Alec said the teasing tone gone from his voice. Max felt tired again and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Take me home." Alec drew her closer and kissed her forehead.

"Ok baby." The endearment just slipped out but he didn't take it back. Max smiled as the word tickled something within her. It felt good.

The trip home was a long one, because Max being Max refused, point blank, to be carried anywhere. She settled instead for hobbling along using Alec to support some of her weight. Alec had eventually and grudgingly complied. Max continued to complain all the way across the main compound. It was more than she usually did but Alec knew that it was in fact her way of covering how ill she really was feeling. She hated showing weakness. Of course once they got to their apartment block, Alec had taken just about as much of it as he could.

"Right, that's it." And in one swift motion he picked her up and made for the stairs. Max was about to argue but the relief it gave her, as well as the gust of air on to her skin caused by the swift movement, was so good she didn't dare. She lay her head on his shoulder and thought that having someone look after her sometimes wasn't so bad. Alec on the other hand was trying not to be affected by the frail ball of hell cat curled in his arms. He had to crouch slightly to open the front door but after that they moved straight through the apartment which was still in a state.

"Are you actually going to clean this up?"

"Are you kidding?" Alec teased "And have you miss out on all the fun, no way." Alec laid her carefully on her bed. Once he was sure she was comfortable he removed all the heavy covers leaving her with a white sheet so that she could be as cool as possible. "Right, do you need anything?"

"Why? are you going to wait on me hand and foot?" Max teased.

"And be your whipping boy?...maybe some other time." Alec grinned as he made for the door.

"Where are you going?" Max said sitting up.

"Back to work, the world doesn't stop just because you're laid up. You're not the queen of the universe just yet Maxie." Max pouted.

"You're just going to leave me like this?" Alec tried not to think about exactly how he was leaving her, hot, sweating, needy and with her top ridding up. "What if I need to ... you know, go or something. I'm bed ridden remember."

"You could just call me." Alec grinned again leaning against the doorway.

"Oh, you'd love that wouldn't you." Max huffed totally not amused by her current situation.

"Relax, its not me you need right now anyways. I'll be back later, be good." With that he closed the door and left the apartment leaving Max to ponder his last words. He exited their apartment block his shoulders set in determination as he made straight for the city gates.

------------------------------------------

Max stirred lightly from her somewhat fitful sleep, the intense heat of her own body making her mind delirious and keeping her from the land of dreams. But that was not what drew her finally from sleep. It was the sudden awareness of another presence in the room. Although her sickness dulled her enhanced abilities, her manticore tried and tested senses still worked under the surface. Someone was sat nearby watching over her, she felt the presence as being familiar and safe. She inhaled deeply and was filled with the unmistakeable smell of passion flowers the favourite perfume of her dearest friend. Max's eyes flickered open and she smiled.

"Hey Boo, miss me?" Cindy smiled happily not hiding her concern nor her relief at seeing her best friend.

"You know it." Max grinned "What are you doing here?" she asked as she shifted up into a sitting position.

"Your boy said you was in a jam and that you needed a sista. Well girl this sista has always got yo' back." Max leaned forward to give her a hug.

"It's been too long."

"You got that right." OC returned the embrace but with not quite so much force, "Boo, I love you but you are all kinds of sweaty."

"Sorry," Max pulled away chuckling. She carefully leaned her body up against the headboard "Don't worry I'm not contagious."

"I know, your boy gave me the low-down on the way over here," Cindy smirked crossing her arms over her chest as if about to chastise her. "I heard the boy could make girls hot but this is ridiculous." Max for one small moment was glad for her condition as it hid her blush perfectly.

"He told you about that, huh." She stated rather than asked.

"yeah, That came up, but I didn't get the specifics." Cindy said sliding up the bed in order to climb in next to Max. Max giggled but stalled a little longer.

"So where is he?"

"Finding us some coffee. I didn't even have to ask, you got him well trained." Max laughed. That was something that had initially thrown her about Alec, the way he seemed to know what she needed. That is except, of course, when she needed to be alone. He never seemed to get that one quite right. He'd turn up just when it suited him and just when she was in utter term oil. She smirked lightly at the memories.

"I didn't do anything."

"Yeah right, " Cindy observed her friend carefully. She had a good idea why Alec had wheeled her down here and it was not just so she could play nurse for Max. Max had a decision to make and as with most of her problems in life she needed some reassurance and a good friend to straighten her out. She had missed her friend (Alec too if she was honest with herself) and so she was hardly going to pass up a chance to spend some time with her. Alec had promised to clear things with Normal so that they could have as much time as they needed, not that she cared what Normal had to say. "Sooooo, where shall we start? you wanna tell Original Cindy what happened to change your view on hot boy? or just skip that and tell me how good it was?"

Max grinned as she pulled the covers over her head and sunk down into the bed. Cindy giggled and followed laying down and watching the suddenly coy Max.

"So spill, what happened? come on don't get quiet on me now girl."

"I overheard him tell someone he was in love with me." Max whispered, only too aware that the subject of their discussion could reappear at any time.

"For real!" Cindy said in surprise.

"Yeah, It totally freaked me out, turned me into a lunatic nutcase for the rest of the week." Max couldn't help but laugh at herself a bit, finding it almost bazaar in hindsight. "That is until I realised that none of it was because I didn't like him, it was because I didn't like that I did like him."

"As simple as all that, huh." Cindy jested. Max smiled turning her attention to the white sheets beneath them where her hand was absently drawing circles. "So what about Logan?"

Max shrugged and sighed. "That's just it, I don't know. I'm cured." She said as if still not quite understanding the meaning of her new virus free condition, "All that time we tried and hoped and waited while the virus kept us apart, and then not to even try? I don't know, I just don't know what to do. But then this thing with Alec, I can't just ignore it … I hate hard decisions."

"That's bullshit!" Original Cindy suddenly blurted making Max frown in confusion, "Look Sugar, there is no such thing as a hard decision. Everyday you make hundreds of thousands of decision. The truth is decisions are easy cos we already know the answers, every damn time. You ain't talking to me girl cos you can't make a decision, you talk cos you aint cool with the decision you've already made." Max considered this, her brow still furrowed as she took in her friends words of wisdom. It always surprised her how Cindy, who granted had her fair share of problems, could be so clear sighted and insightful about these things and she was invariably always right. Her indispensable outside eye. Cindy paused a moment to see if her words would take effect.

"If Original Cindy told you now that she thought you should go to Logan and give that another try, how would you feel?" Max was silent, "Would you be happy with that?" Max looked down for once not just seeing but feeling the truth in her friends words. "Decisions is easy, its having the guts to follow through that's the hard part. If you want me to tell you its ok to follow your heart and not your head, OC's got your back cos Boo I ain't seen you like this before, all girly over some guy."

Max huffed in mock offence "I'm not being girly, its all this heat, I'm delirious."

"Sure you are." Cindy laughed and Max smiled brightly at her, "But I gotta warn you Boo, if you are gonna 'follow through' I'd brush your teeth first cos your breath stinks."

"Hey!" Max squealed and the two girls started play fighting under the covers.

"If I knew you were planning a party I would have come sooner." The two girls jumped at the sound of the unexpected interruption. They both emerged from their tousle to glare at their intruder's smirking face.

"Boy, don't you knock." Cindy scolded him, but he just grinned wickedly.

"It's moments like this that I remember exactly why I don't knock." Alec wiggled his eyebrows suggestively for effect to which both girls rolled their eyes. Alec moved into the room drawing their attention to the tray of goodies he had brought with him. There were a couple of chipped mugs brimming with steaming hot coffee and two plates piled with toast; some just buttered, some peanut buttered and some covered in jam. They both scooted up in bed as he came around to lay the tray beside Max on her bedside table. "You ok?" He asked looking at her asking her more with his eyes than he had in his words. Max's hand sought his and gave it a light squeeze.

"Yeah," There was a moments silence before Cindy started to clear her throat, indicating it was time for the male among them to make himself scarce.

"Right, I've got a city to run so I'd better ... run. You've got coffee and toast. Gem was totally out of bagels I'm afraid, but if it really bugs you you can always cut them into circles and pretend." Alec got up and made his way to the door. "If you need anything, or you two get bored of playing with each other, you know where I'll be."

"Just get going, go on, get! get!" Cindy growled throwing a cushion at Alec's retreating back for effect. She glanced at Max who was still smiling. "Are you sure Boo?" She asked indicating the direction in which Alec had just disappeared in.

"I'm no good at certainty."

A/N: Hi all, sorry for the delayed posting of this next chapter, I was only going to post the first part but thought I'd better do a bit more to make up for all my slacking. ;) I wanted to get away from some of the more obvious and mainstream ways out of the situation I popped our two favourite transgenics in. Does it work?
I'm never sure about how to go about writing OC's style of speech, I hope its ok. How is it going so far? I'd love the reviews. Thanks xxx