Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters from Dark Angel the belong to James Cameron, Charles Eglee, and Fox. But, Mercy and Amora are ours, as well as any other characters you are not familiar with.
"So." Was all Max could say, as she made her way to the front of the van. She hadn't seen Logan in how many months? For the longest time, she couldn't even remember him. Hell, she'd even moved on. But she knew she owed him a conversation.
"So." Logan replied, glancing over at Max.
"I don't know whether I should thank you, or be mad at you for what you did."
"What are you talking about Max?"
"The stunt you guys pulled. A lot of people could of died back there. A lot of innocent people. What were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry. I thought saving your life would have been a good thing, Max. I guess I was wrong. Next time I have a crazy idea like that, I'll think twice about carrying it out."
"That's not it Logan." Max sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I thank you for it. I do. It's just a lot of people could have been killed in the process. We don't even know if all of them got out."
Logan turned to look at Max, and was about to say something when someone cut him off. "Maxie, it's been ten years and you decide to go talk to geek boy instead of me? I'm hurt."
"Sorry Jon," Max smiled at Jondy. "We'll talk later Logan," she stated before she headed towards the back of the van.
"How's Amora doing Ben?" Max questioned as she took a seat between Jondy and Syl.
"I...I think she's going to be ok." Ben replied.
"As soon as we get into Seattle we'll take her to see Dr. Carr." Logan informed them. "You guys can trust him. He's a friend. He won't ask questions."
Ben looked to Max and then to Zack. His eyes asking them if he could trust Logan.
"She'll be fine Ben. We can trust Dr. Carr." Max smiled at her brother, before her gaze drifted over to Biggs and Alec. She could see so much pain and fear in both their eyes. The pain and fear that had been so clear in her own eyes after escaping Manticore ten years ago. Not knowing if the ones you loved had made it was hard, extremely hard.
Alec's head turned, and his eye's locked with Max's. She gave him a weak smile before turning to Jondy, who hugged her once again. "I missed you so much Maxie."
"I missed you to Jon." Max laughed.
"I'm not going to let you out of my sight again, you know?" Jondy questioned. "Losing you once was hard enough. I never want that to happen again."
"Jondy I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. It takes a lot more then ice water, and a burning building to get rid of me." Max replied. "I'm going to be around for awhile."
"Good, 'cause I'm moving to Seattle, to keep an eye on you Maxie." Jondy grinned, her bright blue eyes glimmering in excitement.
"Are you sure that's a good idea Jondy?" Zack questioned, finally speaking up.
Max rolled her eyes, and Zane said, "Don't start that Zack. Not right now."
"I think right now's a good time to start this." Zack stated, the commanding officer in him coming out.
"We all know you're going to say splitting up is the best route to take." Krit replied. "But I don't agree with that."
"Me either." Syl said glancing over at Zack.
"Manticore is gone Zack." Max stated. "Did you not see what you guys did back there? It went-"
"Ka-boom." Jondy finished Max's sentence for her.
"I was going to say, 'it went up in flames', but that works too."
"That doesn't mean they're not out there looking for us." Zack shot back.
"He's right you know," Lydecker spoke up.
"Did I ask for your opinion Deck?" Max snapped.
"Cool it Max," Jondy sighed. "He helped us get you out of there, and take down Manticore, you can at least cut him some slack."
"Cut some slack to the guy who made our lives living hell when we were kids?" Max questioned. "I don't think so."
Everything that had happened in the last hour, was finally getting to her. She didn't know who had made it out, and who had didn't. She was afraid of what would happen now that Manticore was gone. It wasn't like when her and her siblings had escaped ten years ago. There were more of them out in the real world now, and many didn't know what was going on. Max could almost feel the trouble brewing around her.
"Is it just me or is this van a little cramped?" Alec questioned, attempting to change the conversation. "You know not that I mind being close to the ladies."
"Shut up Alec, now is so not the time." Max snapped once again.
"Sorry," Alec muttered. Well at least Max didn't hit him this time.
Silence filled the van, no one really knowing what to say. After a few minutes it finally got on Alec's nerves and he asked, "Are we there yet?"
Max looked at him with a raised eyebrow and replied, "No."
"Okay..."Alec trailed off.
Another few minutes passed before Alec once again asked, "Are we there yet?"
"No." Max rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Alec looked over at Max, he was getting on her nerves, he could tell. An angry Max was always a fun Max. Unless she was a hitting, angry Max. That could be scary sometimes. "How 'bout now?"
"Not yet Alec." Max replied through gritted teeth.
"Now?" Alec questioned with a smirk on his face.
"Yes Alec, we're there." Max sighed.
"Really?"
"What do you think?"
"Well you said we were..." he trailed off.
"When the van stops, that means we're there." Max snapped.
"How could you lie to me like that? You got my hopes up. I truly thought we were there, and I could finally get out of this cramped van and stretch my legs. Thanks for crushing my hopes like that."
Max shook her head, "Anytime Alec."
Zane started laughing, and Max turned to look at him. "What?"
"You guys fight like a married old couple." Zane replied.
"Shut up Zane."
"We have a problem Renfro."
"I know sir." Renfro replied, her eyes glued to the wall in front of her. "Everything will be taken care of."
"How many got out?"
"I...I'm not exactly sure." Renfro looked at the man sitting in front of her.
"I want an exact number Elizabeth! And Now!"
"We have reason to believe that about a thousand of them made it out." Renfro replied quietly, which was out of character for her. Was it possible for her to get intimidated?
"And the other thousand?"
"Died in the fire sir." Renfro swallowed the lump in her throat. "Ten of them were in the infirmary wing, which was one of the first to go. Another five were in Psy Ops. Then there were those in the basement..."
"What about the DNA lab?"
"That's a funny story sir..."
"Well tell it, because I want to laugh."
"It's gone."
"All of it?"
"Yes sir. But I have the disks with everything we need to start over sir."
"I want a list of every transgenic that made it out, and a list of every transgenic dead on my desk tomorrow. Understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Now don't disappoint me Renfro."
"I won't Sandeman. Don't worry."
"Took long enough to get here." Alec muttered as he got out of the van.
"It took less then a half hour Alec. I don't see why you're complaining." Max replied, "We could have ended up walking." She followed him out of the vehicle and stretched briefly.
"Well we could have gotten here sooner, if good ol' Deck hadn't wanted us to drop him off in that semi-remote location." Krit mused. "Why did we drop him off there again?"
"Because none of us wanted to be stuck in a van with him any longer." Syl shrugged.
Max stared straight up against the wall of the building, as her siblings began to talk. Her eyes traced their way up past windows until she saw Logan's apartment, the same window she had stared out of so many times.
"Lets hurry up and get Amora upstairs. Logan get on your cell and call Dr. Carr already," Max commanded. Logan gave her a hurt expression before wandering off to make the call. She motioned for Ben to follow her, carrying Amora. They quickly went through the front doors and past the lobby of the building.
After an elevator ride that seemed hours long, they reached Logan's floor. Max went ahead of Ben and tried the door. Locked.
"I guess we should have grabbed the key from Logan," Ben noted quietly as Max cursed under her breath.
"Screw that!" She said angrily.
Before Ben could reply, Max drew her leg up and back, then fired a single kick that sent the door to an early death. She stomped inside, leaving Ben stunned. "Are you coming?" She asked impatiently. Ben quickly followed her inside the apartment, looking around.
"Nice place," He commented. Max didn't reply, and rather just grunted.
"Not mine," Max gestured towards the table, "You can put her down there."
"The table?" Ben raised an eyebrow. Max gave him a harsh look that made him quickly lay Amora's body on the table.
"I'm gonna go wait for the doctor so I can show him up. If Logan shows him up then Logan will freak about the door." She paused and rolled her eyes. "Although I guess he'll notice and freak anyways."
After she left, Ben took one more sweeping glance. It was a nice place, elegantly furnished with tasteful colors and patterns. It didn't fit in with the city. Ben took a glance out the window. People were fighting, crying, starving, eating, running and laughing all at once. In here, everything was perfect; no controversy or conflicts.
Then reality hit him. He grabbed Amora's hand and sat at a chair next to the table. He gave her cold lifeless fingers a squeeze as tears came to his eyes. How could things go so horrible wrong? Ben was grateful to be out of Manticore. He was grateful that his sibling had come and gotten Max and himself out. But Ben hated the fact that there had been consequences. Amora was lying here in front of him, so badly injured it scared him, and Mercy was... Mercy could be dead for all any of them knew.
Ben jumped, startled by a hand on his shoulder. "You ok man?" a male voice questioned. Ben immediately knew who it was.
"I'm fine Zane." Ben muttered in reply. "Where are the others?"
"They're on their way up. So, what happened to the front door?"
"Maxie." Ben replied.
"Has she ever heard of a door knob?"
Ben looked at his brother. "The door was locked."
"Why didn't she just pick the lock?"
"She has anger issues." Ben shrugged. "When this is all over we should probably put her in anger management."
"I don't think that would help her at all." Zane mused. "How's she doing?" He questioned gesturing towards Amora."
"I...I don't know." Ben sighed, his gaze moving to Amora. "I want to believe that she's going to be fine, but I don't honestly know if she will be."
"Wh-Wh-What the hell happened?" Logan questioned, going pale at the sight of his front door lying on the ground.
"I'll fix it later." Max replied quickly brushing past him, dragging Dr. Sam Carr behind her.
"You did that?" Logan asked her.
"Later Logan. I have other things to worry about right now." Max snapped. "She's in there Dr. Carr."
Dr. Sam Carr nodded in reply, before disappearing into the other room.
"Nice place Maxie." Alec mused, coming out of the other room. "Is it yours?"
"No, it's Logan's." Max replied, "I live on the other side of town with...Oh my god! Original Cindy!" Max turned to look at Logan. "How is she Logan? Have you talked to her? Please tell me she's alright."
"Cindy's fine Max." Logan replied. "But can we talk about my door? Why did you break it down?"
"Don't change the subject Logan," Max stated. "Does she still live in our apartment? Does she still work at Jam Pony?"
"The only thing that has changed around here, is you not being here." Logan shook his head, and looked at Max. She looked thinner, and her hair was longer and not as curly as it use to be. The way 'Alec' was standing so close to Max, kind of unnerved Logan. There was something Max wasn't telling him, and Logan wanted to know what it was. Did it have to do with Alec?
Max was quiet for a moment. "Once we find out from Dr. Carr how bad of a condition Amora is in, we're going to need a ride to my old place. There should be enough room for ever body there, as long as Original Cindy hasn't found a new roommate."
"What are you talking about Max? You guys can all stay here." Logan insisted.
"No, I need to make sure O.C.'s alright, and I don't want anyone to get split up. Not right now. You know what? I'll be back in a bit." Max replied, before turning on her heels. "Come on Alec," she said quietly pulling him past Logan.
Max, still holding Alec's hand pulled him into the corridor and into the elevator. She tapped her foot and sighed.
"You can stop breaking my fingers now... If you like," Alec said, almost phrasing it as a question.
Max looked down at her hand and realized she had Alec's fingers in a death grip. She muttered an apology and let go. The elevator grounded and Alec followed Max out. The two started towards the street in silence. Max and Alec walked through the dark town, sneaking through the check points the old sneak-and-creep Manticore way.
After awhile, Max stopped outside an old, abandoned looking building. There was brightly colored graffiti decorating the cement walls, and junk littering the streets in front of the building. Alec shook his head, it was defiantly a drastic change from where they had come from. Was this where Max lived? Max grabbed Alec's hand again, before he could ask her anything, and pulled him inside.
"Maxie where are we going? What about the others?" Alec questioned looking at her, confused.
"Zack will know where to go...Logan will tell them where I headed." Max replied quietly.
"But...where are we?" Alec questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't answer that question."
"Home..." Max trailed off, looking at the door in front of her. Should she knock? Should she walk right in? What if Original Cindy was sleeping?
Max gulped and raised her fist in preparation to knock. She gave it a light tap that nobody could possibly hear. Then, with a short sigh and closed eyes she rested her hand on the door knob.
One, Two, Three- The door swung open in front of her. Everything was as she last saw it, messy, un-coordinated, mismatched; perfect. This was home.
"Cindy must not be home," she said more to herself than Alec. Max took a couple hesitant steps into the apartment, gazing around. Then it caught her eye, and she lit up with joy. "My baby!" She shouted, hugging the bike.
"Should I be worried?" Alec asked arms crossed at his chest as he watched Max.
Max looked up at Alec with a smile. But the smile wasn't just at her lips, no, it took over her whole face. It surprised Alec. Had he ever seen her smile like that before? "There's nothing to be worried about Alec." Max laughed.
Laughed, she actually laughed. Alec couldn't help but smile at her, she looked happy. "Are you sure?"
"It's my baby Alec." Max simply stated, getting onto her bike, and just sitting there for a few seconds. It felt so good to be on it again. How she missed it, three hundred cc's of raw power between her legs. It always helped clear her mind. That and the Space Needle.
"That's yours?" Alec raised his brow. "How'd you afford it? No offence, but your pad isn't exactly first class."
"I have my ways." Max grinned. She leaned down and hugged the bike again from her sitting position. "I missed you, baby," She said almost maternally.
"Missed you too, boo." Original Cindy's voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears as she flung down a bag of groceries.
"Cindy!" Max jumped off her bike and ran to her best friend, hugging her in the doorway for dear life.
"Max it took you long enough to get home." Original Cindy whispered into her friend's ear. "Original Cindy thought you were dead."
"It takes a lot to get rid of me O.C." Max pulled back smiling at her friend. "I missed you so much."
"I know," Original Cindy grinned at her, her gaze drifting to the figure standing behind Max. "And who's the playa playa?"
"Just yo' average playa playa from the himelayas. Nah, just jokin' witcha, boo." Max laughed at how good it felt to relax and talk like her and O.C. used too.
"I think maybe you mean me? Although I'm not betting on it, because I did not understand a word of what you just said." Alec stated nervously.
"I thought you took common verbal usage back at Manticore," Max mused.
"I did..." Alec trailed off.
"Well obviously they didn't teach you enough," Max smiled at him. She looked at Original Cindy. "Boo, this is- My boo." She said putting an arm around Alec.
"That's great. You go away and almost get killed and find yourself a boo. While O.C.'s still without a lickity-boo." She smiled cynically and shook Alec's hand. "Classy. Boo, how you gonna tell Logan?"
"I haven't exactly figured that one out..." Max trailed off.
"You gonna have to tell roller boy sooner or later, boo."
"I know O.C. I just...can't?"
Alec looked between the two friends. "Wait," he started. "You mean you and Logan... you guys..."
"Nothing ever happened between us, beyond a couple kisses." Max reassured Alec.
"But you could do so much better than him!" Alec replied.
"I have low standards." Max shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Oh." Alec nodded. After a short pause he shouted, "Hey!" Max laughed.
"Nothing happened." Max repeated. 'Since we were never really together, why should I have to tell him about Alec?' She wondered to herself.
"You hungry boo?" O.C. asked. "I got dinner cookin'." Before Max could reply, the hungry growl from her stomach answered for her. The three laughed, and for once in a long time, Max was happy.
"Where's Maxie?" Jondy questioned walking over to Logan, who sat infront of his computer, of course.
"She went to her place." Logan replied, his eyes glued to the computer. "She wanted to check on a friend of hers."
"Oh..." Jondy trailed off, glancing towards the others. "Why are you always on your computer Logan?"
"It's my job, I look up leads for Eyes Only."
'Everyone knows you're Eyes Only,' Jondy thought to herself. "Dude, you so have to get laid."
Logan glared at Jondy. She glared right back, a small grin forming in her eyes. Logan almost winced from the burn in her eyes.
"Shut them off," Logan laughed. Jondy winked.
"I'll try," She sauntered out of the room and into the dining room where she gazed at Ben. He was so perfect. How could she help herself?
Nothing would stop her. Nothing.
Nothing would stop him. Nothing.
He was going to make sure she lived. Ben asserted himself as he clung like a child onto Amora's hand as Dr. Carr poked and prodded.
"She's going to make it, right doc?" Biggs was the one who asked Dr. Carr the first question, as he glanced at Ben.
Biggs knew if it was Mercy instead of Amora he'd be the same way, if not worse. Afraid to let go. Afraid of having to say goodbye. Mercy. Where was she now? Why hadn't she shown up yet? What if she... No. Biggs wouldn't let himself think that way.
Dr. Carr stepped back from Amora. He knew the full 411. These guys were all X5's, and could quite easily kill him if they wanted to. If he hadn't met Max before, and if he hadn't been friends with Logan, he would have probably run in fear from them. "She's going to be alright. She may suffer from some memory loss, it looks like she hit her head pretty hard. I don't think you guys have much to worry about."
"When...when will she wake up?" Ben asked quietly, his eyes still on Amora.
"That's a hard question to answer," Dr. Carr replied. "If she was a normal human being I'd say it might not be for awhile, and want to take her to the hospital to be monitored. But since she's a transgenic, and you guys seem to heal pretty fast, I wouldn't be surprised if she was up and walking within the next few days..."
"I'm sure she'll be up and about in no time, bro," Syl came up and laid a hand on Ben's shoulder and smiled. He did not respond, rather just stared upward into her face tearfully.
"It'll be fine. I'm here if you want to talk," Jondy said, laying a hand on his other shoulder as she came up behind him.
"Jondy." He said almost in a whisper. How did he know? "We need to talk." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hallway, leaving Amora in Biggs' hands.
"What could we possibly have to talk about?" Jondy questioned tilting her head to the side, looking at Ben.
"Jondy...you know..." Ben trailed off.
"No. I don't." Jondy replied. "Really Ben, I'm clueless right now."
"We need to talk about what happened between us..."
"Oh. That." Jondy sighed.
"Yes that." Ben looked down at the ground for a moment trying to think of how to word what he wanted to say. Looking up his hazel eyes, met Jondy's brilliant blue ones. "Jondy, it was a one time thing. Nothing's going to happen between the two of us. I need you to understand that. You're one of my best friends...and ... I just... things are too weird right now. We can't."
"Of course not," She said coldly. "I wouldn't have dreamed of it. Just remember who suggested it might happen, Ben. I got over it, maybe you need to figure out if you did." She turned on her heel and stomped back inside.
Ben sighed. Jondy had always been so... melodramatic. He hadn't meant to suggest anything. He was over it, right? He had to be. Frustrated with himself, Ben shook his head and went back into the dining room, taking his place at the dining room table once more. Once he had caught Jondy staring at him in a strange way, but she quickly turned away and started talking to Logan.
"We should get going," Zack spoke up.
"Get going where?" Krit questioned looking over at his brother.
"Out of Seattle." Zack replied, causing everyone to groan, and roll their eyes.
"You have got to be kidding me Zack." Jondy mumbled.
"I'm not."
Jondy stood up straighter, "Go if you want to Zack. But I'm not coming with you. I'm not leaving Seattle. I'm not leaving Maxie."
Zack's nose flared slightly. "Fine. Stay if you want. But if Manticore gets you. It's on you Jondy. It's not going to be my fault. And I'm not going to save you."
'He's said that so many times before,' Jondy thought to herself. 'But he always saves my ass anyway. He'll be back, if he leaves. He always comes back.'
"That was amazing, O.C.," Max smiled as she picked up the dishes and carried them to the small rusted sink.
"O.C. does what she can," She leaned back in her chair and inspected her nails. "So where you and the playa crashin' tonight, boo?" Max paused for a second and thought, then answered.
"Home, I guess." She said with a big smile.
"Good to have you back boo." Original Cindy smiled. "But I'm gonna crash, Normal's been on a sista's back all week about bein' late."
Max nodded and gave Original Cindy another quick hug before she headed towards her room. With a sigh, she picked up the cordless and called Logan. She explained they were going to stay there, and the others would have to crash at his place for the night. Max knew that it probably wasn't the best idea to move Amora, her body needed to rest to recuperate. Logan argued slightly, saying Max and Alec should crash at his place too, but Max wouldn't hear it. A few minutes afterwards the conversation was over.
"So, we gonna hit the hay?" Alec asked. "Where did that expression come from, anyway?" Max laughed.
"In a bit. First, your going with me somewhere." She smiled knowingly.
"This is... fun," Alec screamed in Max's ear from the back seat of her motorcycle. She smiled and sped up, laughing as he held on tighter. "Do you have to go so fast Maxie?"
"You can't tell me you're afraid Alec!" Max yelled over the sound of the motorcycle. "You're an X5. How can you not like speed?"
"I like going fast, " Alec replied. "But I don't really trust you're driving abilities. You almost got us killed. Twice."
"Don't worry Alec," Max laughed.
They continued on in silence. Alec slightly wondering where Max was taking him. He didn't know what to expect, Max was an unpredictable person. But he trusted her, and would follow her to the end of the world and back again. Max suddenly pulled the motorcycle to the side of the road, Killing the engine Max jumped off the bike, and pulled Alec with her.
"Come on," she smiled at him.
"Where are we going?" Alec questioned.
"Up there." Max pointed to the Space Needle. Alec looked at her like she was a crazy woman, but said nothing, just followed.
As they reached the top, Max took in a long breath and let it out. She was so comfortable up here. She smiled and really felt the emotional rush of being home. She had almost forgotten about Alec. He came up beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head onto his arm for a few moments before turning to him.
"Thanks." Max said, kissing Alec quickly. "For everything."
"How could I resist? With a behind like that..." he grinned. "I mean, a caring personality." She laughed and punched him in the arm.
"Why I'm with you, I'll never know."
"Well look at this face." He grinned goofily. "And besides- I... Um."
"Spit it out already, I ain't got all day," She laughed.
"I love you." Max's smile dropped and she looked shocked. But, slowly her smile found its way back to her lips.
"I- I love you too, Alec." She smiled widely and kissed him. "I really do." They kissed again, Max wrapping her arms around Alec's neck as his hands found her waist. Max felt freed; In this moment she wasn't worried about Manticore, or Logan, or anything. She knew she could make it, at least if she had Alec.
The scent of coffee, stirred Max out of the darkness. Max felt an arm around her waist, and turned to see Alec's sleeping face, centimeters from her own. She didn't move any further. Instead she laid there and watched Alec's face. He looked so peaceful, happy, and so much younger.
Max watched his eyes move under his eyelids, and felt his arm tighten around her waist. "Alec," she whispered.
"Mmm?"
"You should get up."
"Another hour, please?"
"Alec."
"Maxieeee." Alec whined. "This is my first morning as a free man, can't I sleep in for just a little bit?"
"Fine," Max sighed. "But I'm getting up, I want to catch up with O.C. before she goes off to work."
"Okay..."Alec trailed off, his eyes still closed and his arm still around Max's waist.
"Alec, you have to let go of me."
"I don't wanna."
"Alec."
"Max."
"I'll hit you... really hard...in the...face."
"Fine," Alec sighed, letting go of Max's waist.
As soon as Max got out of the bed, Alec pulled Max's pillow close to him, before falling back to sleep again. Max shook her head and walked out of the room. She walked down the small hall to the kitchen.
"Morning O.C." Max grinned at Original Cindy, who was sitting at the small table in the kitchen.
"Mornin' boo. Have fun last night?"
Max sat down across from Original Cindy and poured herself a cup of coffee. "He said he loved me," she stated.
"Boo. You're trippin'. That's usually a good thing."
"But he's never said it before. Neither have I," Max traced her finger lightly around the cup's rim. "It almost scared me, Cindy."
"O.C.'s not stupid, and she knows what's what when it comes to lickity-boos. Your girl can tell you love the playa, and he's ga-ga over you."
"You're right," Max said softly. "I think I do. No, I know I love him. I do." She broke into a small smile.
"Am I interrupting?" Alec walked into the kitchen, his hair a mess and looking half-dead.
"I was just leaving. Later boo. Later playa." O.C. winked at Alec and left for work.
"What happened to the extra sleep?" Max asked.
"You killed it. You and your noisy conversation."
"You heard?" Max gulped.
"No, I lied. I couldn't sleep anymore. Once I'm up, I'm up." He paused. "Should I be worried about what you were talking about?"
"Of course not." Max leaned over the table and kissed him, before staring into his eyes and smiling. "Now go clean up and get dressed, we got places to go, people to mug."
"That's how you afford that bike?" He asked, stunned.
"Kidding," Max yelled from the hallway and she strode towards her old room.
"I don't have a change of clothes though!" Alec yelled after her.
"Not my problem!" Max yelled from behind her closed door, going through her small dresser.
"But I don't want to wear the same clothes Max." Alec complained walking down the hall, and opening Max's bedroom door.
"We'll get you something later." Max replied, changing her shirt, throwing the one she had been wearing behind her.
"Maaaaax." Alec whined as soon as her shirt hit him in the face. "Watch where you throw things."
Max turned around to look at him, "Well next time you see my bedroom door is closed don't come in, unless you want to get hit in the face with something."
"You are so evil."
Max didn't reply, instead she changed into a pair of black cargos. Alec looked her up and down. Taking in Max's black cargo's and red tank top. "Looking good, Maxie." he grinned at her.
"Too bad I can't say the same about you." Max smiled at Alec ruffling his already messy hair.
"You wound me Max," Alec stated putting a hand over his heart.
"You'll get over it." Max replied, walking past Alec, and out of her bedroom. "Now hurry up and get ready to go."
"Good to see someone fixed the door, " Max mused, turning the doorknob. It was locked. Knock it down? Or leave it?
"You should knock this time Maxie." Alec stated.
Max rolled her eyes at Alec, and started picking the lock. "What's the fun in knocking Alec? One would think you aren't a Manticore soldier with the way you think." She pushed open the door and yelled out into the apartment, "Anyone here?"
"In here." They followed the voice until they found Ben still sitting at the dining room table, bags under his eyes. "Everyone else left to grab breakfast." His voice was groggy and cracked a couple times.
"See Max? That's why I will never be a junkie. Look what I would look like!" Alec pointed and made a gagging sound at Ben. Ben glared at him, and Max hit him in the arm.
"You slept?" Ben shook his head at Max's question. "Eaten? Drank anything?" Receiving another head shake, she put her hands on her hips. "Is your heart still beating for pete sake?"
"I can't just leave her, Max." Ben said quietly.
Ben ran his finger over Amora's cheek. She was still badly burned, although Dr. Carr had cleaned her up a lot. She had a gash over her lip and a cut along her hairline. Max laid a hand on Ben's shoulder and went to get him a glass of water and something to eat. The three sat for a while, until Ben suddenly sat up straight and looked excited.
"What is it?" Alec asked. "You look kinda... Weird."
"She moved- She- She moved!" Ben exclaimed. He stroked Amora's hair and tried to get a response. "Amora, Amora, come on," A smile had crept onto his face slowly as Amora's hand slowly raised and laid on Ben's cheek. She made some mumbling sounds and coughed deeply.
"I'll call Dr. Carr," Max said, rushing into the other room to get the phone.
"B...Ben?" Amora's voice was heard.
"I'm right here Amora." Ben replied, gripping onto Amora's had tighter.
Amora's eyes slowly began to open, and immediately she sought out Ben's face. She slowly lifted her free hand, and touched Ben's cheek. "Ben," was all she could say.
"I'm alright, you're alright. Everything's going to be fine."
"Where...where are we?" Amora questioned, her voice quiet and hoarse.
"A friend of Maxie's," Ben replied. "Away from Manticore."
Amora moved to sit up, but Ben pushed her back. "You need your rest."
"No... I need to talk to Biggs... I need to let him know.. I need to let you all know..." she trailed off, forcing Ben to let her sit up. Amora's world slightly swayed as she did so. "Where is he?"
"Getting breakfast," Alec replied speaking up.
"Dr. Carr's coming." Max stated walking into the room, looking at Amora. "How are you feeling? Light-headed? Tired? Thirsty? Hungry?"
"I'm fine Max, I just need to talk to you guys." Amora replied quickly, slightly lying. She kind of felt dizzy.
"Then talk away," Max said quietly, coming to stand between Ben and Alec.
"No, not without Biggs." Amora shook her head, which didn't help the slight feeling of dizziness. "He needs to hear this too."
"What do I need to hear?" Biggs' voice questioned from the kitchen doorway, bags in his hand.
Amora looked up at him, she could feel tears forming in her eyes. She knew what she was about to say was going to affect all of them. She also knew Biggs was going to take it the hardest.
"Let me take those," Alec said walking up to his friend and taking the bags. Immediately Alec began to dig through the bags. Food. He liked food.
Amora slowly moved off the table, pulling away from Ben for a moment. Walking over to Biggs, she looked up into his eyes and said, "I'm sorry Biggs. I'm so, so, sorry."
AN: So, what do you think of it? Huh? Huh? Share your thoughts, opinions, by leaving us a review! Hope you liked it though, so much more drama to come soon.
