AN: Almost the last chapter. Thanks for sticking with me all this time. ~poestheblackcat

Chapter 10

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It was about a week later that Alec realized he hadn't seen Max around Terminal City for a few hours. This was a rare occurrence, since when she wasn't in her office at Headquarters, she was usually found running around trying to solve some problem or another, biting everyone else's head off in the process. After asking around and getting nothing on his CO's current whereabouts, he took off in the direction of the one place he could always be sure of finding her when she was nowhere else to be found.

He decided to walk to the Space Needle, as it was a warm afternoon and the sun was still out. He just wanted to make sure Max was okay, that she really was at the Needle, and not kidnapped by Familiars or anything like that. Just for his own peace of mind.

That was what Alec told himself, anyway. The truth was, he didn't really know how he felt about her. Well, he did; she was his friend and he had nothing but warm and fuzzy feelings about her. And then some. Alec shook his head. Uh-uh. Not going there. He was not going to think about her sassy attitude and the flush in her cheeks when she got mad at him and her big, brown, melted chocolate eyes that he could drown in and her lips, god, those—enough!

Maybe he should have let her name him "Dick". It seemed pretty appropriate now, anyway. Taking advantage of their friendship, even if it was only in his head. Alec groaned out loud, earning himself a few curious glances from the other people walking in the street.

As he climbed the stairs leading to the top of the Needle, he thought about what could have happened to make his friend suddenly decide to disappear like this. She often went places alone, claiming she needed some air, someplace quiet to think. But she always made it a point to tell someone that she was leaving, not just disappear out of the blue. Rules, you know. Max should know them best, having written up most of them.

But what was bothering her? Maybe the whole thing with having to gank Ben again and having to revisit those unpleasant memories got to her. She'd spent enough time running away from them, trying to forget them, and having to recount the story twice in as many days must have been tough on her. Alec sighed, emerging from the enclosure out into the open air.

Max was sitting on the edge of the dome just as Alec had expected, and tensed as she sensed him. "Go away Alec." Was it just him, or did she sound a little sniffly?

Alec sat down next to her, right in her personal space. "What's wrong?" he asked cheerfully, choosing to play the "idiot" she always called him.

She huffed and scooted away. The cooling breeze blew a few strands of loose hair into her face. "Nothing," she said, getting the hair in her mouth when she spoke. Grimacing, she pulled her hair back. She glared at Alec when he handed her a hair elastic. "What's this for?"

Alec smirked. "I know you're a tomboy, but don't you know a hair tie when you see one?"

Max scowled. "I know what it is. Why do you have one? Did one of your bimbos leave it in your pocket or something to remember her by?"

She watched as Alec flinched before regaining his composure and felt a little bad. Why was she always so mean to him? Max buried that thought as he turned his head to look at the view to his right, the side away from her. "I just noticed that you never seem to have one when you really need it. Your hair's always getting all over the place." He smirked, turning his green gaze back to Max. "Don't worry. You won't get lice or anything from it. It was still in its original packing before I put it in my pocket."

Still scowling, although not as much, Max grabbed the elastic and used it to tie back her unruly hair before the wind decided to frizz it up to rival OC's. "What are you doing here?" she asked, instantly regretting it the moment she said it. That would make him ask her why she was there.

Alec gave her an amused look thinly veiling his concern. "I could ask you the exact same thing," he replied. "I'm here because I was looking for you."

Max could avoid that one. "Why were you looking for me?" she said aloofly with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled. "Nice try, Max. I was looking for you because you kinda pulled a Houdini on me, and I don't like it when my friends disappear. Now, why are you here, Max? Thinking about something?"

At Max's sullen non-response, he went on gently, "Is this about Ben? Max, I'm not claiming to have ever known the guy, but I don't think he'd want you to be all sad and gloomy like this. Frankly, it's depressing for everyone else around you. Besides, I think he'd want you to live and be happy that you're alive. And I think he's at peace now, too. You saved him, again."

Max brought her feet closer to the rest of her body so that she could rest her chin on her knees. Giving a great sigh, she replied, "It's not about Ben. Well, it is, but not in the way you're thinking." At Alec's raised eyebrows, she continued. "I miss him. I miss Zack, and Tinga, and all the rest of my family. I just—" she sighed, "It's like I don't really know who I am without them, you know? Like I'm lost and no one can see the real me." Max gave a little laugh that sounded suspiciously like a sob. "You know, I've been trying to find my birth mother for years, since I got out, really, and you found the guy you were cloned from and his brother without even trying. And you've only been out for two years. How fair is that?"

Alec listened without interrupting her, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, just letting her talk. He thought for a moment, and smiled and bumped his left shoulder up against Max's right before he said, "You don't need to find your birth mother to find yourself, Max. I can't believe I'm going to say something this corny," Max snorted incredulously here, "but you gotta look inside yourself to find who you really are. Joshua, me, OC and Sketch; we're your friends, but we're all your family, too. Because we can all see the real you, even if you can't. You're beautiful and strong, Max, not just on the outside, but on the inside, too," Alec said, blushing a little. He continued earnestly, "Sure, I've got Dean and Sam now, and I guess they're family, but Max, family doesn't end with DNA. You taught me that. It is so much more. It's about—"

"I got it," Max interrupted him. She laughed a little. "Thanks."

"No problem," Alec said, nodding. "Thanks for stopping me, by the way. I coulda gone on for hours about the merits of family according to Max," he smirked.

"Shut up, you smartass." Max grinned as she whacked him softly on the back of the head. She felt loads better than before, when she was wallowing in self-pity and loneliness.

Alec feigned hurt, then beamed. His goal of getting Max out of her funks, his self-appointed job of late, had been attained.

The pair sat there in the comfortable silence until the sun went down and the air cooled. Alec shivered slightly in his short-sleeved t-shirt. "I'm gonna head back, Max. You coming?" he asked, standing.

Max replied, not letting her eyes leave the city below. "No. I'll be down later." Dragging her gaze from the view to look up at her friend, she gave a rare genuine smile. "Thanks for coming to talk to me, Alec."

Alec smiled back. "Anytime, Maxie," he said, and wobbled. Whoa. What was that?

Max was up in an instant. "Alec? You okay?" She seemed worried, and with good reason. Transgenics rarely tripped or wobbled unless there was something wrong with them or distracting them.

Alec waved her off, climbing back into the Needle. "I'm fine, Max," he said, his voice gruff. "I'm just a little tired, you know, from doing your job today." He grinned, letting her know he was only teasing.

Max pursed her lips. "Okay," she said after an eternity. "Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Yeah. See ya." Alec hurried away from her concerned gaze as fast as he could. Descending the stairs, he realized that his hands were shaking. Crap. He'd taken his daily dose of tryptophan that morning, but sometimes it wasn't enough and he ended up with the shakes for a few hours. He was due for a big one, too, and Joshua just happened to be away in Los Angeles at an art convention with Rita, his art dealer, for the week.

The Transhumans didn't have a tryptophan deficiency like the X5s, and Joshua had been extremely worried the first time Alec had had a seizure when he was staying at his house after the whole Ben identity mix-up with the police. He'd ended up staying by Alec the whole time, and still did whenever the younger man had them in their shared apartment at TC.

Alec trudged home for a long and painful night alone and hoped he got there in time before they got too bad for him to walk.

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Back at Logan's, Sam and Logan were happily tapping away at the keyboard. They were making a supernatural database and Sam had all of the Winchester hunting journals as references. John Winchester's original leather journal had long since been filled from cover to cover, so the brothers had finally decided to shell out some money for a new one, and when that one had been filled up with news clippings and notes from their numerous cases, they had invested in yet another one, and so on.

Over the years, Sam had thought of making a database himself, transcribing all of their notes, but the pair had never stopped long enough for him to be able to make a decent start. Now, Dean had agreed to stick around for a few more days while Logan and Sam were eagerly reading the cramped and sometimes faded writing and typing it into the program. Even though Sam trusted Logan to keep this database secure, he did take the precaution to omit the names and other information of their hunting contacts.

Meanwhile, Dean had gone over and cleaned every weapon in the trunk. Twice. He'd melted down and molded all the silver into bullets, blessed gallons of holy water, cleaned out the back seat of his car, and done all the laundry. Now, sprawled on Logan's beige leather couch watching nighttime reruns of horrible daytime television, he was bored. And everyone knows a bored Dean is a bad thing to have around the house.

"Oh, Eric. Thank you so much for convincing Roman to agree to the wedding. You're the best brother a girl could ask for." The blonde chick on the TV screen, Sami, hugged the guy with the pretty-boy hair. Dean stared at the television and snorted. Dude. Seriously? He dug for the remote and stood up, heaving an enormous sigh. "I'm goin' out."

Sam's head shot up. "Where're you going?" he asked, his brows forming an upside-down "V" shape.

"Out," Dean tossed over his shoulder, as he strode out.

"What do you mean, 'Out'? Dean, come back." Sam huffed, seeing his brother was not slowing down. "Fine, I'm going with you."

Dean turned, exasperated. "No, you're not, Sammy. Go back to your geek business with Logan."

Seeing that Sam was still frowning, he said, "I need a drink, you know, get out, do something. Or someone. I'll be back in a few hours. Unless I find something fun to do," he grinned wolfishly, wriggling his eyebrows.

Sam groaned and shook his head. "Okay then. Just make sure you call if you do stay out all night."

"Yes, Mom," Dean smirked, taking the wooden porch steps two at a time and sliding into his baby. No, if he was going to get completely sloshed, like he thoroughly intended to, he probably shouldn't take his car. Something might happen to her. Patting her steering wheel, Dean got back out and started walking down the street to find a bar.

He changed his course when he heard "Take that, ya freak!" and "Yeah, serves you right, Trannie trash." coming from a nearby alley ten minutes later.

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AN: Dun-dun-duuuun. Ooh, who's in trouble?

Anybody catch the "Family don't end in blood" Supernatural reference in Alec's speech to Max? :D And the Days of Our Lives (which Jensen Ackles was in) reference? Thank you soapcentral. com for the recaps page because I have never seen the show.