Chapter 5

Alec stood at the kitchen opening with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Ava and Max together talking on the sofa. Ava showing off a picture of Max she painted while she had left her to talk with Alec in the kitchen earlier.

"It's perfect, I have a friend who paints his name is Joshua. He's from Manticore too."

"Cool." Ava exclaimed. "I have more, want to see them?"

"Sure." As the word left her mouth Ava took off running. "She's great." Max said as she noticed Alec's stare. "She's happy; you've done good with her."

"I hope. Listen there's something you should know. We'll all being hunted but Ava's their top priority. The guy running this thing is hell bent on getting her back into the government's hands." Alec explained as he pushed off the wall and neared her careful so Ava wouldn't overhear.

"You've had a few close calls." Max realized and worry set in. She wished she could've been there to help.

"Just me, nothing I couldn't handle. They haven't seen Ava but suspect she's in my care."

"Speaking of," Shane began as she joined them. "I saw a few suits while I was in town and that's what took me so long to get back."

"No one followed you?" Alec asked.

"No I was extra careful. I won't let anyone get close to Ava; she's like a sister to me." The teenage transgenic explained, she saw it all as a mission she couldn't fail. She worked best in a solider state of mind.

"Thanks for being there for her." Max spoke. She was grateful to anyone on her daughter's side.

"No problem. I'm glad she finally found you. I've never seen her so happy." Shane said as Ava came out with more drawings.

Max stayed the next few hours and had dinner with them. Afterward she put Ava to bed and waited with her until she fell asleep. She shut the room door and found Alec cleaning up in the kitchen as her beeper went off, again.

"It's gone off more then ten times just call whoever it is back. My phone's on the table." Alec spoke as he washed the dishes. He was developing a strong hate for her beeper, the ringing was began to haunt his thoughts.

Max took his advice and dialed Logan's number. "Hey."

"Hey, where've you been all day?"

"Um…it's a long story I'll explain later. What's up?" Max said looking at Alec has his back faced her. She had no idea how to explain any of it to Logan.

"You won't believe what happened. I woke up this morning and realized I was robbed. Paintings, sculptures, electronics, all gone. I didn't hear a thing." He ranted with his voice on edge. "But all my files are still here and safe."

"With all the security you have this person had to be good, hell you caught me." Max voiced. Her eyes landed on Alec again and remembered he had been there last night. "Logan I have to go, I'll call you back later." She placed the phone back down on the table then walked over beside Alec. "Would you happen to know anything about a robbery at Fogle Towers yesterday?" she leaned against the counter and eyed him looking for a sign he was guilty.

Alec continued with the dishes. "No."

"I think you're lying. In fact I think it was you."

"I'm hurt Maxie I am."

Max continued to look at him in hopes to intimidate him into confessing. Minutes passed neither of them moving before Alec spoke. "You know he has a little too much info about transgenics lying around. Not the safest thing in the world."

"I knew it!" Max punched him in the arm. "How could you?"

"Hey don't get you panties in a twist. Jam Pony doesn't pay enough to keep this place and everything else. It's going toward your daughter's welfare. Plus I was nice; I left his precious computer alone." Alec shut off the water and dried his hands.

"You're unbelievable."

"Thanks."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"I'm taking it as one." Alec called back as he sat on the sofa.

"I'm gonna go." Max said heading for the door. "I'll come back to see her."

"Thanks for sticking around as long as you did. It meant a lot to her." Alec wanted Max to know.

"It meant a lot to me." Max said leaving the apartment.

When she finally got home she found OC asleep, Max decided to try and do the same. She laid in the darkness of her room and thought of Ava. She had a daughter; the sheer thought was mind blowing.

And Alec, she found him incredibly annoying and could do without his smug grin all the time but he was a wonderful father. She would've never guessed his secret would've been so big.

The next morning after a mere two hours of sleep she met Original Cindy in the kitchen. "Hey boo where've you been? Normal was having a bitch fit when you disappeared. Alec too. He figured you corrupted his golden boy somehow." She explained getting the coffee ready to brew. "What did go down?"

"You ain't gonna believe this." Max sighed and took a seat on one of the empty chairs. "I decided to break into Alec's place to see if he had anything lying around that could tell me I was right and he was Manticore. Before I could get there I saw this tiny little girl getting ready to pound a girl twice her size. She moved at Manticore speed and I stopped her. Alec shows up and it turns out she's his daughter and they're both from Manticore."

"Damn boo."

"That's only the half of it."

Cindy noticed how her friend's expression grew very serious. "What else happened?"

"The little girl, Ava, she was created by Manticore with the two perfect strains of DNA they had. Alec found out he was the father and wanted to get her out of there. He had the files and Ava knew her mother's destination. It's me, I'm her mother." Max's voice grew soft toward the end. Saying it caused it to become more real then last night. Tears stung her eyes as she thought of all the time they missed together and the hell Ava went through alone at Manticore.

OC was shocked silent. "Whoa." She said after a few minutes. The feeling began to fade as she focused on her friend. "So you and hot boy have a little boo, she must be pretty."

Max smiled. "Beautiful, she's amazing. She looks a lot like him but with my eyes. I'm gonna go see her today before work if you wanna tag along."

"Hell yeah, I gotta met this little princess."

They left the apartment with still half hour to spare before work. When they arrived Ava was eating breakfast with Shane in the kitchen as Alec got ready for work. Max introduced OC to Ava and left the girls eating as she walked to Alec's room.

He moved around the room wearing nothing put a pair of jeans.

"I need to talk to you." Max said watching as he dug around the room for a shirt.

"So talk." Every shirt he picked up he threw behind him. "I need to wash." He mumbled. He gave up and looked at Max who still hadn't spoke. "What?"

Max remained silent as she tried to come up with the right words. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame before noticing his stare. "I don't want you to think I'm trying to take her away or something but I think we should come up with a plan, like a schedule." She suggested.

"You want to take her to spend time with you?" Alec asked to make sure he understood what she wanted.

"Yeah. She could spend a few nights with me a week. I have the room."

Alec ran his hand through his hair and realized he still wasn't ready. He pulled on one of the decent shirts before sitting on the bed to put on his boots. "I don't know, she's in a lot of danger."

"I'd protect her with my life. You know I can handle it."

Alec stood again once he was done. "What about your life? How would she fit in and your boyfriend, what does he think about you suddenly having a kid?" he didn't want Ava to feel out of place on top of all the dangers.

"He doesn't know and it doesn't matter. I want her in my life and I want to include you in this but she's mine too. I have a right to make choices for her." Max tightly explained.

"It's not that easy. You don't know the types of problems she has."

"Problems?"

Alec walked up to Max and pulled her inside the room, he checked the hall to make sure they were alone before shutting the door. "They succeeded and made her perfect, too perfect. There are times where it all becomes too much, all the knowledge and the training, it all comes at her and she burns out."

"Seizures." Max said with a sigh. She didn't want to think of her child suffering the way she had.

Alec noticed the knowing expression. "Family trait?"

"You could say so. Manticore evened it out my last stay there. I don't get them as much."

"She has nightmares sometimes but I think we all do. There are also times; it happens almost daily where she has to go out. The same spaces remind her of the cell they kept her in. She likes to take walks."

Max nodded, she knew it would take time and care for Ava to learn to live with Manticores tortures. She looked at Alec and saw the worry he carried. "Ok, so what do we do?"

Max wanted to be involved, that's what he had wanted for Ava. "We need a solution so she can have both her parents." He met her dark orbs. "Move in."

-

Isabelle A