Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers for "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole."

Chapter 16: Zack (X5-599)

I woke up and grabbed my watch off of the top of my dresser and looked at it. 0132. I felt wide awake. I thought about just lying in bed like I usually do after I get my two hours of sleep for the night but I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and sat up. Max had apparently just gotten dressed and was sneaking out the door. "Where are you going, Maxie?"

Max shrugged. "Just going to the gym. I think I'll get a few rounds on the punching bag in. Do you want to come with me or are you just going to stay in bed or read or something?"

I thought about it for maybe half a second. "I'll go with you. Give me a few moments." I got up out of my bunk, grabbed a change of clothing and started to get changed, noticing that Max had respectfully turned around to give me a little bit of privacy. I pulled on my second sock and put on my boots and laced them up and stood. "I'm ready."

"Mind if one more comes with you?" Max and I turned and saw Tinga walking towards us, already dressed. "I'm having a lot of trouble sleeping tonight."

"The more the merrier," Max said. "Come on."

"Jondy isn't coming with us?" I asked as we walked down the hallways towards the gym.

Max shook her head. "No, Jondy actually needs to sleep tonight. Maybe she'll get up and join us in the gym later." We paused a few steps short of the gymnasium. "I think somebody else had the same idea that we did."

"It sounds like it's Becky in there," Tinga said after a few more moments. We all smiled and walked over to the gym door and opened it and stood there watching Becky land punches and kicks against one of the sandbags. My smile faded as I watched her. Something was definitely wrong. Her stance was just a little too stiff and her blows were a little more powerful than they usually were. The three of us stood and watched until Becky stumbled after a kick but instead of keeping her balance and trying to land another blow against the bag, she collapsed to the floor and to our complete shock, she started to cry hysterically. Immediately, I ran over to her and sat down and pulled her into a hug and she clung to me almost desperately as she cried. Tinga went over to her side and started to rub her back and Max put a comforting hand on one of her shoulders. We were all unnerved by this. This kind of behavior was completely out of character for Becky. As much teasing as she and I have gotten over the years, we really were so much alike, including how we handled our emotions.

"Becky?" I said softly. "Becky, what's wrong?" She couldn't even speak coherently. I was really getting worried. "Becky, it's okay. It's me. Maxie and Tinga are here, too. Tell us what's wrong." I could feel Becky nodding against my shoulder and I heard her make a valiant effort to try to get herself under control enough to be able to speak.

"I--I got called into--Lydecker's office and he told--me that--" Becky started to sob again. "He's dead! Oh my God, he's dead."

Who had died? I'd seen all of the other members of--it hit me like a ton of bricks who Becky had to be talking about and I honestly felt like I was going to throw up. Max and Tinga looked similarly shocked.

"Kyle?" Max whispered. "How?"

"Lydecker told me that he and the team had taken fire as they were getting away and Kyle had been--had been hit in the head," Becky managed to say. "They couldn't revive him." She burst into tears again and I held her tightly and closed my own eyes and tried to hold back my own tears.

"Becky, I'm so sorry," Tinga said softly. "I am so sorry, sweetie."

"I just don't get it," Becky sobbed. "I don't get why this had to happen to Kyle. He didn't deserve to die. I don't get how I'm supposed to be strong for everybody when I'm hurting inside as much as they are. They're all wrecks over this and I've got to help them. I can't let them fall apart. But how can I stay strong for them when I'm also falling apart inside? How am I supposed to do it?"

"One step at a time, Beck," I said quietly. "I know how you feel. I felt the same way when Dash died years ago. It's not easy, but you just have to take everything one step at a time. And if you ever need to vent, and I mean ever, you can always come to us. We won't think of you as any weaker for it. You're human. We're all human." I took a deep breath. "The night that Dash died, after everybody else had gone to sleep for the night, I got out of bed and just went into the bathroom and sat down on the floor and I--I cried." I saw Max's eyes look downward for a nanosecond out of the corner of my eye. I continued on. "I got my feelings out and believe me, I was hurting that night. I was thinking the same things that you are now. How am I going to keep everything together for the others when I'm also breaking into pieces on the inside? It was so hard, but I realized that I had to take things slowly. It was the only way and that's how I was able to get through it. You can do it too, Becky. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met before in my life and I'm not talking about your physical abilities. I remember when we got out of Psy Ops back in June of 2009 after Unit 7 tried to escape that you were the only X6 commanding officer that got thrown into Psy Ops and that didn't look completely shell-shocked. I had so much respect for you for being so tough. I still do. I have faith in you, Becky. We all do. You can do it."

Becky nodded and I could hear her crying slowing down. Finally, she lifted her head from my shoulder and wiped her eyes and looked at all of us. "Thank you so much, you guys."

"You're part of our family, remember?" Max said, smiling.

Tinga also smiled. "Maxie's absolutely right, baby sister. If you ever need us for anything, just say the word. We'll be there for you or for any of you guys before anybody can blink."

Becky actually smiled and we all stood up. She took a shaky breath. "I should be getting back to my barracks before any of the others wake up and wonder why I'm the one that's not in their bunk in the middle of the night and not Karen."

"Your barracks are on the way to ours," I said. "We'll walk you there." Becky nodded and we left the gym and walked back. We stopped by her barracks and she turned back to us.

"Thank you so much again," she said.

"You're welcome," I said. "We'll break the news to the others in the morning for you."

Becky nodded. "Thanks, Zack. I guess I'll see you guys in the morning at breakfast." She went inside and closed the door behind her. Max and Tinga and I continued on to our own barracks and went inside and changed back for bed and got into our bunks. I closed my eyes when I heard a noise next to my bunk. I looked up and saw Max standing over me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Look, Zack..." she said. She looked nervous, which I rarely see happen with Max. She shows nerves about as much as I show any kind of emotion that Lydecker would think of as weak. "The night that Dash died...I didn't fall asleep like the others did. I was trying to but I couldn't and I heard you get up and go into the bathroom and I followed you and I peeked inside and I heard you crying. I knew how you'd react if I mentioned anything about that to any of the others, so I never said a word about it."

I suddenly sat up and hugged Max. "I thought I heard somebody outside of the bathroom. I had a feeling that it was you and I'm glad." I heard Max cry a little and I tightened my hug a little bit. "It'll be okay, Maxie. I promise."

"And you always fulfill a promise, one way or another," Max agreed. She let go and wiped her eyes. "I should get back into my bunk. I'll see you in the morning, Zack."

"See you in the morning, Maxie," I said. I watched her get into her bunk and lay down. I looked at her for a few moments longer before I sighed and lay back down and fell back asleep.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support! CrimsonReality, at this point in the fic, the X5s range in age from about eighteen (Max) to twenty-two (Zack) and the X6s range in age from about eleven (Xavier) to fifteen (Becky). aod78, Kyle is definitely dead in this fic. I'm glad you liked the interaction between Kyle and Kevin and I'll try to put some more of it in "What's Next?" since while that is a different AU, it has more or less the same characters including Kyle and Kevin. As for the Max/Zack action, it will be coming up later in the fic so hang tight! Thank you all so much again!