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A Max/Alec fic.
Chapter Six.
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Disclaimer: I still don't own dark angel ... sigh.
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A/N: Thanks for the quick reviews last time guys, I love opening my email and seeing a bunch of messages from !
Alright, so in the last chapter, Max and Alec made it into the city, and Alec stopped her before she went into Logan's, and gave her the cure for her virus, and he is now an escapee from Manticore as well. Max got her job back, and Alec got hired at Jam Pony as well, and is living with Max and Original Cindy for the time being.
Now, for the next chapter, Max calls Logan, and they talk. Just to be clear, this is a Max/Alec pairing fic. So, there won't be a whole lot of Max/Logan romance, just to clarify. Alec meets Logan as well.
Alrighty, enough of my babbling, and on with the story!
As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!
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Max, Alec and Original Cindy stayed up all night her first night back. It had also been Alec's first part-day at Jam Pony, and with Max and OC showing him the ropes, he fit in right away. They had stopped on their way back from "lunch" so he could buy some normal clothes, as Max had changed as soon as she could, and off they had gone to work, and then Crash to party.
She had been relieved that Logan hadn't been there, for starters she had no idea what she would say to him, and she didn't want to take any chances with this virus, wanted to give it a full twenty-four hours before seeing him.
Now it was 4 in the morning, Original Cindy was fast asleep on the couch, Alec laid out on the floor, snoring, and Max held the phone in her unsure hands.
She took a deep breath, sighing even more deeply as she exhaled, and dialed his number.
He answered after to rings.
"Logan Cale."
Max was silent for a second.
"Hello?" his voice asked again.
"It's me," she said quietly.
She could tell he had stopped breathing, but didn't say anything further.
"Max?"
"Yeah."
"You're alive."
She could hear the joyful shock in his voice.
"Yeah."
"Where are you?" he wanted to know.
"I'm home," she said.
"I'm on my way," he said.
"Wait, no!"
"What? What is it?" Logan asked her.
Max sighed. "Just ... just wait until tomorrow, okay? I'll come see you then, after lunch."
"Max, tell me you're okay."
"I'm fine. It's just been ..."
"A long time," he finished for her.
She remembered when she used to love when he did that. Now, it was only a painful reminder of her "old" life. Manticore had already changed her, she just hoped she could get herself back.
"Yeah."
She sighed, looking down at her feet, still not knowing what to say to him.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," she said.
"Okay. Max?"
"Yeah?"
He paused. "It's good to hear your voice."
Max pursed her lips for a second, then said, "Yeah, yours too. Bye."
She hung up the phone, putting it beside her on the floor.
"You okay?"
Again, she hadn't noticed Alec had woken up.
"I'm fine," she answered.
He got up and moved over to her, slowly putting his arm around her shoulder.
She stiffened for a moment, but then leaned into his embrace.
"Was he your, uh ... ?" Alec began, but Max shook her head.
"We danced around it for a year, but never actually took the "plunge"," Max told him, enjoying the steady thump-thump of his heart against her cheek. "We started something before I got brought back to Manticore, but now ..."
Alec looked down at her, annoyed that he was hopeful, but hopeful nonetheless. "Now what?"
She looked up at him with equally hopeful eyes. "Now ... things are different."
Alec smiled lightly and leaned his head down to hers, capturing her lips.
"Go get a room, would'ya?" came Original Cindy's sleepy voice from on the couch.
Max stood and Alec followed her into her room, but as soon as the door was closed, she stiffened up again.
Alec looked at her, and as though he read her mind, said, "We can just sleep."
Max gave him a small smile, and slipped under the covers of her very-much-missed bed.
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Original Cindy woke them up three hours later, clanking pots together in the kitchen as she made them a breakfast of watered-down noodles and coffee.
Off they went to work, and Max was once again the subject of gossip and surprised looks.
Normal kept Max and Alec paired up, as he was still a "newbie", so Alec was with her as she went to take her lunch break.
"I can stay here if you want," he suggested, motioning towards OC and Sketchy.
Max thought it over for a few seconds, then said, "No, I want you to come ... if you don't mind?"
Alec nodded once, and they made their way to Logan's.
He had evidently been pacing the room in front of the elevator, because the second it opened, he was there, and in another second, he had Max wrapped up in a tight hug.
"You're alive."
"Again ... yeah," Max said, choking slightly.
"Sorry," he said, and hurriedly stood back from her.
Max looked at him for a few moments, waiting for some sign that the anti-virus hadn't worked, but he seemed healthy as ever, though his hair was longer.
"Uh, this is Alec," she said, and Logan finally noticed she wasn't alone.
Logan nodded, slightly confused, but stuck out his hand for Alec to shake.
"How do you two know each other?" Logan wondered.
"We were breeding partners at Manticore," Alec answered simply.
Max's eyes practically bulged out of her head, and Logan stood stock still.
"Excuse me?"
Max closed her eyes, wishing she was anywhere but there. She so hadn't wanted their conversation to start like that.
"That's a funny story ... really," Alec started, trying to take some of the pressure off of Max, put she put a hand on his arm, stopping him from making the situation worse.
"Logan, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, and Logan, glaring at Alec, lead Max back into his office.
"Okay ... awkward," Alec said quietly, then made his way to the kitchen, grabbing a beer.
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"So, how'd it go, sugar?" Original Cindy asked her best friend, after Alec had slipped into the bathroom for a shower.
"The phrase "it could have been better", doesn't even come close."
"That bad?"
Max nodded. "And I wanted to blame it on Alec, but he was just being honest, and it would have come out sooner or later."
OC nodded. "So what you gonna do about blondie in there?"
"What do you mean?" Max wondered.
The shorter girl smiled. "You know exactly what I mean, Boo. I see the way you look at him. And it ain't nothing like the way I used to see you lookin' at Logan. You got him under your skin, so dish."
Max rolled her eyes, but another look from Original Cindy and she was talking.
"I don't know what it is, I just know that it is, you know?"
OC nodded. "Original Cindy knows just what you mean Boo, and what you need."
"What do I need, oh wise one?" Max wondered playfully.
"You need to have yourself a go with that boy," she explained.
"What? Just like that?"
OC nodded.
Max shook her head. "I can't do that."
"Why not, you said you already did," OC said.
"Yeah, but that was back at Manticore, and I was in heat at first."
"Yeah, but not the last two times," OC corrected her from memory. "You said it yourself, you were back to yourself the those last times, but you two still went at it like rabbits."
"True ... but we're not back at Manticore anymore ... we're not breeding partners, we're not 452 and 494 ... we're people again. I mean, this is all new to him, not belonging to Manticore ... I just wouldn't want to push anything onto him right now."
"Honey, he abandoned everything he's ever known for you, to save you ... I think he can handle a little nookie."
"Who can handle a little nookie?" Alec asked, walking into the room, towel wrapped low around his waist, his entire body still damp from his shower.
Max caught herself staring after a few seconds, and tore her eyes away.
"No one ... nothing," she said. "What's up?"
Alec's eyes moved from side to side, then said, "Not a whole lot ... uh, you?"
"You know ... stuff," Max answered, and Original Cindy snorted.
"I'm-a leave you two lovebirds alone for a couple hours, kay?" she said, grabbing her jacket and making "scratch" hands at Max as she left.
"What was that about?" Alec asked Max as he fished around in his bags for some clothes, then dropped his towel as he grabbed a pair of boxers.
Max looked everywhere in the room except at him, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
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Okay, end of chapter six.
What did you think of that one?