So… I'm back :D This is so unexpected… I've had already written that chapter a long time ago, and a new one is coming, I've lost my precious Beta but I guess I improved in 2 years, maybe, maybe not… ;) Keep reviewing, it makes me feel bad about leaving one of my fic unfinished ;)

Chapter 6 Bad dream ? No, just another nightmare !

She was running for her life, gun shot poisoning the atmosphere of a very sunny day. Suddenly, she realised she had left him behind. Her eyes opened widely in horror. She stopped and began to run the other way. She never saw the bullet, coming straight to her, and she died in a loud scream of terror…

"Ahhhhhhhhhh" Max woke up, her breath cut in her throat. She tried to calm down but the horror of the dream kept coming back to her so she got up and went to the living room. She heard voice coming from Alec's room, he was still watch TV. She sighed with relief, it could seem silly but she really didn't want to be alone right now. She entered his room.

"Alec, it's late, will you stop watching this thing, I can't sleep because of you ?" She lied. Ok, it was unfair and most certainly untrue but she didn't want to let him know she couldn't sleep because of a stupid Manticore nightmare and worse, that she actually wanted to be with him so that she wouldn't be alone.

"Maxie, I'm only enjoying myself and…" He began mockingly but he stopped immediately when he saw the look on her face, she didn't look annoyed as always she seemed…frightened. "Max are you ok ?" He said as he turned off the TV.

Max raised her eyebrows surprised he has seen so clearly into her. "Yeah, why are you asking me that" She said lightly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I don't buy that, I heard you scream Max, you looked like someone who had a very bad nightmare." He said looking right into her eyes.

"Ok, I admit it" She whispered as she sat on the other side of the bed.

"Did our beloved childhood was involve ?" He said sarcastically. "Because those are the worse one." He added more for himself.

"You have nightmare too hum ?" She asked.

"Rarely" He lied. "I dreamt one time about all the thing they've done to us and I was as frightened as you are right now."

She didn't know why but the words began to slip out of her mouth. "I was running for my life and I realised I had left someone behind me and I died trying to get to him."

A second of silence followed her statement. It wasn't the first time they actually talked like friends, that they had a meaningful conversation about one of the things that were haunting them but last time, they were on the Space Needle, her sanctuary, a place that had always made her feel safe. Surprisingly, she was also felling safe here with Alec. Not that he has anything to do with that She thought. But then she realised that her and Alec had grown closer and that he was her friend, even if it was hard to admit. The way he had kept an eye on her when she was in heat, how bad he didn't want her to do something she would regret. She remembered perfectly the look of relief on his face when he had seen her returned from her date early, when she had finally went over her heat.

He didn't admit to her he was also awake because of a nightmare. He just couldn't sleep after one, he never could. And they weren't rare at all but he had learned how to live with it. "Come on, let's watch TV together my dear" He said trying to lighten the mood. At his surprise, she laid down beside him. "Thank you, I really don't want to be alone right now." She said.

Half an hour later, she was asleep. She's so peaceful... He thought before turning the TV off and exited the room.

"Beautiful Day"

When Max woke up the next morning she didn't knew how the hell she had gotten into Alec's bed but when the memories came back to her, she smiled, thinking to herself that she owned him a big one. She found him on the couch, sleeping and did the best she could not to wake him as she went upstairs. It was Saturday, they didn't have to work ! She considered going to OC's but it was too dangerous so she decided she would hang out with Joshua the rest of the day.

"Hey big Fella, what are you doing ?" She said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Reading. Father's book." He answered slowly, she could tell he was bored.

"Do you think you, me and this big apartment would make a good mix for the day ?" She offered him cheerfully. He was about to accept when Eric entered the room. "I'm not going anywhere today, too tired. Normal had a target on my ass yesterday, I did more run than I did the entire week before that. So I'm hanging out with you guys." Eric said with a big yawn. Joshua had the biggest smile he was capable of doing on his face.

"Going to make breakfast for you two." He added happily. "Hey Josh, don't forget me." Max smiled when she saw a very sleepy Alec entered the room. "Joshua only does breakfast for the ones who are gonna spend the day with him, am I right Big Fella ? Eric said with an evil grin on his face. Max laughed. He had been living with them for two weeks and he was now a part of the closest thing to a family she knew. After their date, after the heat, they had both realised they weren't anything more than friends and she was considering him as a brother now. Alec's eye opened widely. "Traitor." He mumbled under his breath before his trademark smirk came out. "Then it's gonna be the four of us today." He said and his smile grew bigger at the sight of Joshua's sparkling eyes.

"This is a glorious day, our beloved king is staying with us common mortals !" Eric said mockingly. He had noticed that Alec rarely stayed in one place long. "Does this means I can eat first ?" Alec replied interested. "Everything you want your Highness !" Eric said as he did a little reverence. "Thank you, thank you." Alec said laughing as he sat beside Max. She laughed and gave Alec a little friendly blow on the shoulder.

"Would you stop it already ? You're not eating first !" She said playfully. "And why is that" He asked curiously. "Because, as the queen of this apartment, I decided I would eat first." She said as she took the first plate full of food Joshua was offering behind Alec's back. "Traitors" Alec said. Insisting on the "s". Everyone started to laugh at his offended look and Alec couldn't stay serious longer so he laugh with them. Max was feeling so good, being there, with her people, eating breakfast. Eric and Alec had teenage behaviour when they were together and it was contagious. It took her mind out of its "solving-problems" mode and she was grateful to them because of that. For a moment she could stop thinking about Logan. She hadn't spoke to him for a week now and it was better this way. For him, for both of them. They had to move on and they would never be able to if they were constantly together. She wouldn't let her Saturday be ruined because of her worries. After breakfast, Eric offered them to play cards which revealed to be pretty intense since they were all Manticore's enhanced soldiers…or something like it…four very happy transgenics.

"I need some sleep"

She had avoided first two raid of bullet but she just couldn't get to the forest, it was like they knew she would try to save him, that she would come back. She decide she would try an offensive before they ask for back up. She knock out two of the first men in her way but, as she tried to reach the third, pain was all over her. She had been shot, she knew it. As she crawled trying to escape, she saw a path going deeper in the forest. How come I didn't saw it earlier ? She asked herself. She tried to reach it but it was too late, the next bullet had gone straight to the heart.

Max woke up completely panicked, she couldn't think straight, she couldn't get a hold on herself. She got up and knocked on Alec's door shyly, hoping he was still awake like yesterday. She opened the door and realised that he hadn't came back from Crash. He and Eric had left early, saying they had promised Sketchy a revenge at pool and she had decided to go to bed early because she hadn't slept well the night before. She noticed that Eric had came back because she could hear his snore. Alec was with a girl, she knew it and it was hurting her more then it should have. She had expected him to be there for her. She was breathing so heavily as she went back to her room, she just couldn't stop shivering. She was also feeling so tired when she laid back down on her bed, like she hadn't slept for a week. Nightmares were draining her energy out of her. She tried to fall asleep, rolling on her left side and then on her right side every minute but she couldn't find peace so she broke down and started crying, her nightmare haunting her. The ghost of a brother she hadn't been able to save whispering accusing statements in her ear.

She didn't want to sleep anymore, afraid she would have an other nightmare and yet she was too weak to get up. She just laid there until she fainted from exhaustion.

She thundered into the forest, it was dark now. She heard him scream, she had to save him, she couldn't just leave him there. And then she saw him, lying on the wet grass. She ran to him and took him in her arms. Then she noticed that the angle between his head and is neck was weird. "What happened Ben ?" She asked with a trembling voice, so worried that he could be hurt. Shaking furiously, she held him close to her. He raised his head, looked at her in the eyes and spoke slowly, letting every word makes its way into her worried mind. "You killed me Maxie."

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" Max woke up with a gasp and she began to cry badly. She felt a hand brushing her tears away. Her eyes flew opened and then she saw him, sitting at her side, worried about her.In a total stage of shock, she threw herself in his arms and he pulled her closer in a comforting embrace. She was realising that it wasn't Ben, it was Alec but she didn't care. She was trembling so hard, she would like it to be a lie, she would like to pretend it was Ben, just for few seconds but Ben was dead, she had killed him and pretending wouldn't help. However, hugging Alec was helping so she stuck to that plan.

"I went to see you after the first one but you weren't there and it got worse and…" She said panicking again.

"It's okay, Max, it's okay. You just had another nightmare." He said sweetly, holding her tight.

Max's heart beat slowly returned to normal, letting the clone of her lost brother sweeping her fears and her guilt away. Then it slowly occurred to her that something was wrong.

"Alec, how did you get here that fast ?" She said suspiciously, pulling him away to look in his eyes.

"You whimpered a lot, you woke me up and I came to check on you…I was worried." He said rapidly.

"Alec, I'm living here too, I know there's nothing that can wake you up when you're sleeping." She insisted sweetly. His guilty look confirmed he was hiding something from her. Or at least that he had tried to. "Ok, I have nightmares all the time, I…it wasn't that bad at Manticore but, since we're out I… I thought a lot about what I've done and, well, let's say I haven't had a night without one in a long time." He said very fast, almost angry that she had seen through his bluff.

At the sight of Alec confessing those things to her, Max realised how bad she had judged him. He was everything but an uncaring and insensitive screw-up. "Since we can't get rid of them, we'll try to find a way to fight them which begins by not staying alone after one, what do you say ? She asked him softly. "Ok, what do you want to do ? He answered happily, like it was a relief to know that now he had someone to talk to. "Let's explore our wonderful city shall we !" She replied as she took her coat.

"Feel good time"

Eric was eating an apple when a visitor came in without knocking. Acting like Eric wasn't there, the visitor began to run down the stairs. With a frown, Eric followed him to the basement. Who the hell is that He thought.

"Excuse me, sorry, who are you" He asked like he was talking to a two years old.

"I'm Logan, Max's friend, where is she." Logan asked with the same tone. Eric remembered Max talking about Logan. "Hey Logan, I'm Eric, Alec's and Max's new roommate." He said trying to be friendly. Logan gave him a death glare. "So, where is she. ?" Logan repeated impatiently.

So, this was Eric, the guy Max had went on a date with. Logan hadn't had any problems with Alec, Max hating him at first sight but he was considering Eric responsible for Max taking distances from him. It had been over a week that she hadn't called him, or returned his calls for that matter. I'm sure this second screw-up has to do something with it. He thought bitterly.

"She should be in her room." Eric answered. He walked to Max's door and knocked as he took another bite of his apple. "Max ?" He said with a frown after a few seconds. He opened the door and realised Max wasn't there. Logan gave him a questioning look. "Wait a minute." Eric said as he walked to Alec's door, he opened it. He turned back to Logan. "They aren't here, they must have left in the middle of the night because I'm awake for a while." As he said that, Logan heard voices coming from the first floor.

"And then she said he looked like a turtle…" Max giggled. "Poor Sketch, he doesn't have luck with women…" Alec's voice answered Max's. "But the best one was when you were playing pool…" She began.

Logan couldn't believe his eyes, Max and Alec were coming down the stairs. Alec had his arms around Max shoulders and they looked like they were drunk. He had never seen Max laugh that hard before. But Max wasn't drunk, she had just had a really good time with Alec, a concept impossible for Logan to understand. She came back to earth at the sight of Logan. Oh my god ! She thought.

"Logan ?" She asked seriously, her light-headed mood gone. Alec's smile disappear and he remove his arm reluctantly. Max didn't notice that but Logan had a fleeting impression that Eric wasn't the one he had to worry about…