Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any of the recognizable characters or places. So no owning Jondy or Alec, though that'd be fun! ^_^ Season Two would've been very different, though... ^_~
A/N: Set a few days after "Two." Thanks for all the awesome reviews, y'all rock! ^_^
So Insecure
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence)
(I'm convinced that there's)
(Just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before so insecure
-"Crawling" by Linkin Park
Alec would've picked Jondy up, but he had a feeling she wouldn't like that, so instead he put his arm around her waist and halfway steered and halfway carried her into her bedroom to preserve her pride. Her feet were dragging, but she was making some effort to propel herself along, her teeth gritted. Alec had known her long enough to realize that Jondy was a stubborn ass sometimes.
When they reached her bed, she dropped down onto the thick coverlet and curled up on her side, her arms automatically going around her knees. Water soaked the bed-set immediately, but she didn't seem to care. Damn it, that wasn't good.
Alec wished her could just hold her and make all this go away or snap his fingers and make her better, but that wasn't going to help her. He needed to act. Do something. Manticore had taught him to take command and now he needed to put those hard-learned skills to good use.
He walked over to her bureau in the corner and opened it, knowing she had to keep her pajamas or sweatpants in there somewhere. There was no way she was going out to work tonight, and she needed to get out of those clothes. He was supposed to be the reckless one. Jondy was supposed to be the responsible one, but it seemed like when it came to her own wellbeing, she lost her inherent practicality.
On another day during a different situation, he probably would have been tempted to linger in her underwear drawer, which happened to be the third drawer he found, but today he had a purpose and it wasn't panty-raiding. Snatching a t-shirt and a pair of loose pants from the next drawer, he tossed them over to Jondy.
She looked…bad. Her face was pale, almost white, and she was still trembling. If X5s could get sick, then that's how Alec would have labeled her. He knew it wouldn't be long before another fit of full on shaking hit and reduced her to something akin to having a seizure. She had to have tryptophan. Now.
"This isn't a strip show," she said as she started to pull at her soaked clothes with sluggish movements.
"Wouldn't be a good one, anyway," he said as he stepped toward her, "I like my strippers well and perky."
Jondy snorted and then groaned as she yanked at her shirt. "Damn it…"
Alec stepped toward and before she could stop him, he had pulled her shirt off and turned back around, pretending he hadn't done anything. He couldn't help but notice that her skin was flawless but much too pale. "Are you completely sure there's no—"
"There's none." There was the squelch of more wet clothes coming off and being tossed onto the floor. "I used it all, I was stupid."
"I'd say first for everything, but that doesn't really apply," he said, trying to bring in some lightheartedness.
When he turned around, Jondy was on her knees in the middle of her bed, situating her shirt. She looked up at him with tired blue eyes, like all the spark had been drained out of her, and that freaked him out almost worse than finding her crouched in the shower getting frozen. "Yeah, I've done a lot of stupid stuff."
"I think not telling me about this ranks up high on the list."
"Didn't know we were ranking them," she said as she shuddered. She had looked a little better after getting out of her wet clothes, but now she was paling, her face turning white and dark around her eyes. Her hands rested limply in her lap, one over the over, and she bowed her head over them, shoulders slumped. Jondy looked exhausted, which was perhaps the weirdest damn thing for her since she had shark DNA and almost never slept.
"Jonds, where does your supplier work?" Alec asked as he headed toward the door, pausing to look back at her.
"Couple blocks over, on Freedmont Street," she replied quietly. She curled up in a circle on the bed and rubbed at her face. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to go find him." He went into the living room and then headed for the coat rack. There was quiet scrambling behind him and bare feet padded awkwardly after him.
"The hell?" Jondy asked, but it didn't sound very powerful when she was just whispering, "Alec, you can't, she doesn't even know you and she doesn't supply without references."
"Then reference me," Alec said. He grabbed his jacket, but she almost snatched it back out of his hands. She probably would have if she had had more strength than a human kindergartener. Or at last made a better attempt…
"I can't, I'd have to go with you," she said, "That's the way she works. She used to be a pharmacist, pre-Pulse." Jondy tugged on the jacket. "She doesn't want her drugs falling into the wrong hands."
"Misplaced nobility," Alec said, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her, explain things—"
"No, you'll intimidate her!" She pulled again at the jacket and then stumbled, collapsing against the door.
Alec snatched her up and pulled her against his chest before she could hit the floor. She was starting to shake again, little tremors going through her slender, small body. This time, he scooped her up, one arm under her back and the other under her knees, and walked over to the couch.
"Jondy, I'm not going to fight with you about this," he said as he gently set her down. He grabbed a blanket from where it was bunched up in the corner of the couch and covered her with it. "Tell me her name, maybe that'll help."
She stared at him for a moment, but he stared right back. Even if she didn't tell him, he was going, and she seemed to realize that. "Eloise Termane."
"Good," Alec said, "I'll tell her you sent me." Leaning over her, he kissed her on the cheek. "Be a good girl and shut up and rest while I'm gone. It won't be long."
"Alec…" She caught his hand as he turned to leave and squeezed. "Thank you."
He grinned at her, trying to look more optimistic than he felt. "Hey, what're free-loading apartment-mates for?"
He left, closing the door behind him before he could look back and second-guess this decision. He had to go, even if It left her alone and vulnerable. He wished he could tell one of the neighbors to keep an eye on her for him, but he wasn't that trusting; any of these supposedly good people could turn on him and Jondy in a instant if they knew who and what they were and just how much they could get for turning them in.
