Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any characters featured in either of the seasons.

With Ben In Between

Following that day of seeing those pictures of Ben's and eating Chinese, Max and Alec spent a lot of time together during the rest of the week. He showed her everything he thought she would enjoy, and some days they just met for lunch or a dinner. Since Logan was busy with business all the time, there wasn't much conflict. But each day they that they saw each other, they would open another packed of pictures.

Some of the packets were filled with pictures that held very little meaning past the fact they were taken by Ben, while there were some that meant the world to one or both of them.

When time came to go back to Manticore, Alec still or talked to Max. things between them almost seemed as if everything that had happened in Seattle, the bad part, never happened.

Ring ring ring

"Hello?"

"Hey Simon!" A voice rang out through the receiver.

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" Alec groaned when hearing Rachel over the phone. He lover to death, but he seriously sometimes considered strangling her when she called him 'Simon'.

"Nope, I'd be out of fun," Rachel quipped, "how are you?"

"Tired."

"What have you been up to?" She asked in a way that told Alec she had a mischievous thought in her mind.

"Nothing, get your mind out of the gutter."

"Can't help it when you're friends a tomcat like you. How is life in Europe?"

"Uh…interesting. I ran into my ex-girlfriend the other day." He mentioned rubbing his neck knowing what was to come. Last time he and Rachel had talked, he was ready to propose to Max.

"Who?"

"Max."

"What! You better explain!" Rachel abonished.

"Long story," Alec started before he proceeded to tell his friend everything that had happened starting with when Max had told him about Ben to the point of them running into each other.

"Wow…Alec…you seriously need to find a way to remedy your drama obsession." Rachel commented, "and you also need to get rid of Cale and marry the girl! You're still in love with her and I bet my grand piano and you being forever Simon she loves you too."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because if any guy had ever said or done any of the things you have and I still could stand them, I'd have to be totally in love with them. Sorry Alec you're not that adorable to be just forgiven. There has to be something more." Rachel explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You never ceist to poke fun at me do you? You wound me!"

"Yeah, yeah, well I dated you remember? I know you too well," Rachel pointed. Talking to her in a way relieved Alec of some stress. Being able to just talk to someone about everything that had happened was nice. "I'm going to let you go – don't go blowing up cars or anything. You hear?"

"One time! I swear I never get a break!" Rachel laughed.

"Be good alec. Call me sometime in the next century ok?"

"sorry about that, been busy and all. I'lls tay out of trouble if you do.

"Ok fine, love you Alec.

"You too Rachel." After talking to Rachel, Alec thought about a mixture of things. So much had happened recently, it made his head hurt. Sighing and rubbing his eyes with his heels, Alec headed to bed in hopes his head would stop hurting as sleep took over. But with his luck, there was no such luck. Lying in his bed, pictures that hung on his wall seemed to taunt him, why he didn't know. While thoughts ran through his brain like there was a fast-forward button being pressed. "Ah fuck," he growled hitting himself in the face with a pillow.

'Why me? Why can't I just sleep and be ok with everything?'

'Because you aren't listening to your self, so your self or the smarter part fights you.

'Shit, I'm talking to myself. Now it's offical. I'm nuts!'

'Nope just exhausted from running. Think of me as...SIMON!'

'Great I'm getting split personalities. From what? I'm not running!'

'And you aren't talking to yourself either. I'm not a personality, more like your better concious.'

'Shut up.'

'You first. You really need to listen to me/you. Simon says LISTEN!'

'Shut up! I'm not running, I'm lying in my very comfortable bed trying to sleep.'

'Your first! You're running from your true feelings while lying in a very comfortable bed that you insisted on bringing from Seattle because of a certain period of memories connected to it and a certain someone.'

'Shut up.'

'You first.'

Climbing out his bed Alec started to pace his apartment, he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.