Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any characters featured in either of the seasons.
Author's Note: I've had a lot of questions about this story and I thought I'd clear up the confusion. Manitcore is a military branch that is relitively new to exsistence. It is the best of the best in science and military and works with the rest of military branches. Transgenics are sci-fi - this fic is set in an alternate universe. If anyone has any questions just ask!
With Ben In Between
One year.
One year. One year and Max felt like a different person. Alec was very much a part of her life. No he was her life. Over the months he grew on her and slowly Ben stopped appearing for her. It was as if for the first time, he had left her. For good. But while he had left her, he was still very much in between her and Alec, and Alec didn't know it.
Weeks earlier
They were sitting in a comfortable silence, eating take out and drinking beer. "Why don' you ever talk about your family?" Max asked Alec suddenly, the suddenness showed in his shocked face.
"That's random."
"I know. Well?"
"I don't know, you never asked before."
"Well I am now, come on."
"Ok, family was born and raised military. I had a twin brother, Ben, he past awy a few years ago." Oh god.
"How did he…?"
"Car accident. Someone was in a ditch and he was trying to help them, a passing car hit black ice and hit him. He died instantly." She knew this already, she had read the report from cover to cover, thousands of times. She had told her self the tale of events millions of times.
"I'm sorry."
"Not as much as me." He whispered looking at his Chinese food.
"What?"
"The last years of his life Ben and I never talked. It was partly my fault." Alec had an expression on his face that shocked Max. Remorseful and pain.
"Why not?"
"I don't want to talk about it, can we change the subject?"
After that conversation something in the back of Max's mind was itching. What it was, was to tell Alec about Ben, her Ben. But she never could muster the courage. "Cindy?" Max called out into the apartment, it was technically still her apartment, but she pretty much lived at Alec's lately.
"What's up Boo?" Cindy walked out of her bedroom dressed in her weekend clothes, relaxing and laying around the apartment type of clothes.
"Got a minute?"
"What's up?"
"I think I'm in love Alec." Cindy just stared at Max for a moment before sighing. "And I think I need to tell Alec about Ben…and me." Cindy didn't say anything, she just walked up to Max pulled her into a firm hug which Max reciprocated just as firm. "And I'm scared that if I do I'll lose him, but if I don't I'll lose him still." It wasn't until Cindy pulled away and wiped her face did Max know she was crying. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
"Boo, you are in love with pretty boy or you wouldn't be worrying about this." Cindy answered as she pulled Max towards the couch.
The two sat there and talked for the next couple of hours, and would've kept talking if Max's phone hadn't rang. "Hello?"
"Hey you." It was Alec, he was happy, and that made her happy.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I was thinking I'd finally make you a real dinner, no take out. How about a nice dinner, some good beer and maybe go for a movie."
"Sounds great, I'll meet you at your apartment in a few, k?"
"Great, see ya soon Maxie!" He hung up,.
"Goodbye Maxie," Ben's voice said over the receiver.
"He said good bye." Max whispered to Cindy.
"What?"
"Ben, he said goodbye that night when I talked to him. He said goodbye, I just remembered." Cindy stared at Max confused.
"Ben's finally left me, and I feel free. And I'm not sad." Max looked at Cindy with happiness shown on her face. Cindy smiled and hugged Max once again.
"You need to go see that pretty boy of yours." Max nodded and left to go to Alec's apartment.