Disclaimer: Please see earlier chapters.

Hope people are still reading this because I'm not too sure as I didn't get any reviews or anything, god i sound like I'm moaning here.

Please let me know what you think.

Max slowly came to. Her whole left side hurt like a bitch. The two bullets had missed her vital organs, but she had also come off her bike, causing her to become intimate with 150 yards of asphalt; she was damn lucky to be alive.

She had drifted in and out of consciousness, for how long she didn't know, hearing various voices in the infirmary--Mole and Logan shouting, nurses and medics--not that she could really remember what they had actually said. Though she could have sworn that Joshua had been by her bed for the whole time she was there.

"Don't move, little fella. All going to be all right," he said, stroking her hair.

"Joshua?" she said weakly.

"Big fella here. All going to all right now."

She tried to move, causing pain to erupt down her side.

"Don't move. Don't want to bust stitches," Joshua said, gently trying to hold her in place.

Max was agitated. "How long?"

"Too long," Joshua said.

"And?" Max said, knowing that Mole would want to retaliate immediately, Logan would want more information, Biggs would come down on Mole's side if he couldn't see any other way. As for Dix, she couldn't be sure what he would do.

"Okay, sorted, not White, not government, haters," Joshua explained, she listened as he told her how this she had been attacked by a small anti-transgenic group, that they had opened up on the group of transhuman refugees that she was moving in an attempt to get a response from Terminal City.

"What happened?" Max asked.

"Police pick them up. Logan got tape to Clemente. Rounded up now."

"Bet Mole loved that."

Joshua smiled. "Not much choice, Mole told to stop being a horse's ass."

"Who?" Max asked.

"Don't be mad. Joshua didn't know what else to do. Mole no listen, Logan no listen, Biggs angry, so Joshua made call."

"You didn't," Max said.

Joshua nodded. "He come home. We needed him, so Alec come home. Sorted things out, came down on Logan's side, told Biggs and Mole that they had to stop thinking short term, and that, unless they were going to challenge him in front of everybody, then we were going to do things Logan's way first. Told Logan that we'd give cops a chance, but if they didn't take care of things, then we would and we'd do it smart not stupid."

"Really?" Max smiled. She could really picture that meeting, not that it would be a meeting--more of a faceoff.

"What's happening now?" Max asked.

Joshua shrugged, "Not sure. Joshua been with you."

He was in command shuffling paperwork when she found him.

"Screwing up my filing system?" Max asked.

Alec took a long look around him. "You have a filing system?"

"Yes, I have a filing system."

"Can you please tell me what it is?" he asked with a small smile on his face.

"No," Max said. "It's designed to stop idiots attempting to mess things up."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Looks like it's a throw-it-in-a-pile-and-hope-for-the-best idea to me."

"Well, to the untrained eye it would," she replied, "So I'd appreciate it if you got away from my desk."

"Tough. Ain't going to happen," Alec said, returning to look at the papers in front of him.

"Excuse me?"

Alec didn't look up. "You should still be in the infirmary, and don't make me call Joshua to come and carry you back there."

"No offence, Alec, but my health isn't your business."

He sighed. "Right now it is. I may only be here for a while, but while I am and you aren't firing on all cylinders, you rest."

"What do you mean you're only here for a while?"

"Max, go back to the infirmary. I'm serious about calling Joshua."

Max started to go stir crazy over the next month and a half. Cindy visited Terminal City more than she usually would, although she bitched about the amount of vaccines that she had to take before she was allowed to stay there more than a few hours.

"Alec's being an ass," Max bitched as she stalked about command. "He won't even sit down and talk to me about what is going on. It's like it has to be a full committee meeting before he says anything to me.

"Really? So it isn't that he's actually making sure that something like this don't happen again?"

"Don't take his side on this," Max said to her friend. "Don't say him making everybody be there when he does talk to me is him making me put structures in place, OC."

"Boo, you work too hard. Place almost fell apart when you got hurt. Now god forbid it happen again. This place ain't going to erupt. Or..."

"Or what?"

"Hell, maybe seeing how he usually gets made the punching bag between the two of you, he's trying to make sure he don't get tangled in you and Logan's way."

"No he's not," Max said. "Anyway, Logan and I have moved past that. Yes it was hard, but we have. You know that."

"Maybe I do, but does he? Not like he's been kickin' it in the neighborhood. How do you expect him to know the latest 411 on you two?"

Max glared at her friend for a second. "Alec knows exactly where Logan and I stand."

"Does he?" Cindy replied. "And what does he say to that?"

"OC, stop it. Whatever idea you got in your head about me and that ass it's not happening."

"Who says I got ideas? I'm just saying that your stress levels are up there and from what I use to hear your boy was always good at finding ways for a girl to relax, even if it's only on the physical side," Cindy asked, causing Max to glower at her.

"It's not like he's even staying, anyway. He keeps telling everyone that he is going to go back," Max said, crossing her arms. "But I don't think he's even been in touch with them."

Cindy was confused. "What do you mean? He's not called them?"

"Yeah, Dix says he hasn't even checked in with them, and he's actively avoiding those hunting nuts that he put us in touch with."

"Really? Something is screwy with Pretty Boy then?"

Max nodded. "I asked Biggs to find out what is going on with him, not that he had much luck. Hell, I even asked Logan to find out, but Alec won't talk."

"Maybe Logan doesn't want to talk to Alec about things."

"Why do you think that?"

OC shrugged. "I don't know? Could be because someone, 'a good friend of his,' is protesting a little too much about pretty boy coming back."

"I am not!"

"Tell this sister another one."

Cindy got a call from Normal around about two o'clock. Someone had turned up at Jam Pony asking questions. He wasn't too sure if anyone else was with them, but he thought what, with Terminal City still being on edge, he didn't want to put a call to Biggs or Mole.

Cindy and Max went down there; they found her sitting in Normal's office staring into space.

"Molly?" Max asked.

Molly smiled. "Max." The girl got up and gave the woman she knew a hug.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Is Alec around? I need to talk to him. It's important."

"Sure. He's at Terminal City. We can go there if you want."

Molly bit her lip. "That's a toxic dump, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Max said, "It's okay, though. We can give immunise you against most stuff."

"Is there anywhere else I can see him? Somewhere private?"

Max glanced at OC before turning to back to Molly. "Sure. Anyway, as soon as he knows you're here, he'll be straight over."

Molly shook her head. "You can't tell him I'm here."

Max knotted her brow in confusion, "Right."

Alec sighed as he walked down the corridor to the warehouse space that was serving as Logan's new site for 'Eye's Only.' He wasn't sure why Logan had called him, but knowing Logan, it would be life or death or something in between.

He opened the door to find Logan at the terminals.

"Right. Obi-Wan, I'm here. What is it?"

Logan sighed. "It isn't me that wants to see you."

"What?"

"In the living room," Logan said, gesturing to the doorway.

"Is this an intervention or something?" Alec asked as he wandered into the other room, though he stopped as soon as he saw who was there.

"We'll be in the other room if you need anything, sugar," Cindy said to Molly as she and Max got up and left to go the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Alec asked. "Does Pop or Ellen know you're here?"

Molly shook her head, "No, but I needed to talk to you."

"Why? Is it Billy?" Alec asked.

"Billy... Well, Billy ain't good, but that's not why I'm here."

"You could have picked up a phone."

Molly straightened up. "Would you have answered it?"

Alec didn't know what to say. Truth be told, he probably wouldn't have.

Molly crossed her arms. "Anyway, I couldn't do this over the phone."

Alec glanced in the direction of the kitchen before turning back to Molly. "Do they...?"

"I didn't tell them."

Alec nodded. "I'm coming back, you do know that?"

"Yeah," Molly replied. "But you said in three months, and by then... I need to talk to you now."

"About what?" Alec asked.

Molly didn't reply. Instead she stood there biting her lip.

"Molly, go home, please, before John comes here and starts breaking down doors," Alec said. "I'm almost done, so I'll be back soon, and whatever you want I'll do, but then. Not now."

Molly closed her eyes and held back the tears as he went to leave the apartment.

"I'm pregnant!" she blurted out.

Alec turned. "What?"

"I'm pregnant, and it isn't Kenny's."

The air visibly seemed to leave Alec. "No, you can't be."

Molly said, "I'm sorry Alec, but as I said, it isn't Kenny's, which means it's yours."

"How can you be sure?"

"Me and Kenny, even though the doctors said I couldn't have kids we still always used...," Molly said. "And I think it's a given that we didn't use anything when we were..."

Alec shook his head. "No, this isn't happening. You told me that you couldn't have kids because of what happened when Sam and Dean disappeared."

Molly wiped a tear. "I know I shouldn't be pregnant, but I've taken enough tests to be sure."

He shook his head. "This is not happening."

"I understand that you don't want anything to do with me, I can't blame you for it, but I don't know what to expect considering, and I don't know who else to ask."

Alec looked at her, knotting his brow. "Are you thinking about having it?"

"I don't know," Molly shrugged. "I don't know anything, considering, but maybe I am."

"Jesus."

"But do I even get a choice in it? What if I can't get rid of it even if I want to, or if I decide to have it, that it be okay" Molly asked. "Alec, most of the stuff I know about transgenics comes from you. None of the stuff I have read covers anything like this, and I need to know what I'm getting into whatever I decide."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't deal with this, Molly. I'm sorry I can't."

She took a little step closer to him, causing him to tense. She stopped, sensing his apprehension. "It wasn't your fault. I completely understand how I make you feel, and I know you want to run, but I am asking your help on this. I need someone who knows what they are talking about to tell me my options, and then I'll go. You won't have to see me or think about me ever again."

Alec stood there for a second, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Moll."

The other three watched as Alec left the apartment, Logan turned to Max. "I don't believe it."

"Stay with her," Max said before she went after Alec.

He was standing by the elevator hitting the button, cursing the thing for not moving quicker. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him round.

"What the hell is up with you?" Max yelled.

Alec clenched his jaw, looking trapped, not replying.

"Is that why you keep saying you're going back. You're going back to her?" Max asked angrily as Alec stood there.

"No," he said quietly.

"Then what?" Max asked. "Alec, I've you taken you for many things, but getting your sister pregnant?"

"She's not my sister, Max!" Alec replied.

"Then what is she?"

"I don't know, but she isn't even like what Ben and Zack were to you," Alec explained. "Moll's is... was my friend."

"Right," Max said as she watched Alec squirm. "But getting a girl pregnant, and then leaving her high and dry, Alec? That is something I thought even you couldn't stoop to."

"You don't understand."

"Then tell me. Tell her," Max asked, praying for some sort of explanation.

Alec pushed past Max. "I need out of here."

As Max got back into the apartment space, Logan was getting off of the phone. "Carr knows a good OB/GYN who would be able to help you."

Molly sniffed. "Thanks."

Cindy handed her a tissue. "You okay sweetheart?"

Molly nodded. "Don't blame Alec. It's not his fault. None of it was. He couldn't expect anything like this was going to happen."

Logan knotted his brow. "No offence Molly, but you are kind of going easy on him."

Max peered at Logan before turning to Molly. "It could just be shock. He'll come 'round."

Molly wiped her eyes. "I don't know, and I can't say anything if he doesn't. All I want to know is if the... my baby is okay."

Cindy nodded, "How far alone are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

Molly exhaled; she could put it down to a three-day period. "Two and a half months."

"Okay. You got somewhere to stay?" Max asked.

"I've been sleeping in my car," Molly replied.

"Well that stops right now," Cindy said. "You stay with Cindy until Pretty Boy comes 'round."

Molly shook her head. "No, I got some cash, and I can stay in a motel."

"In this town? No way in hell are you thinking about doing that," Cindy said firmly. "And don't go trying to throw down against OC. You ain't going to win, girl. You stay with me until you figure out your next move."

Molly smiled. "I know what that is going to be."

"What's that?" Max asked

"My parents don't know yet."

Cindy found Alec in a grimy bar in sector seven a little after dark. He was sitting there alone, nursing a scotch. Not that he had to worry about any other patrons. The place was almost deserted.

"What the hell do you think you were playing at?" Cindy said. going into full on attack before Alec had a chance to say a word.

"You leave that poor sister to go through this by herself, to deal with your messes, and you are sitting here getting drunk?"

"You don't understand," he replied, quietly, as he turned away from Cindy's glare.

"Tell OC what she don't understand."

Alec didn't say a word, instead filling up his glass again.

"This is why Cindy don't deal with the male gender. You get an issue that you can't punch your way out of, and you run away and hide," Cindy said, picking up the bottle of scotch. "Alec, that girl is scared, and you crawling into a bottle ain't helping."

Alec shrugged. "Doesn't matter if I help or not. He'll be here to get her soon. She's better off."

"What are you talking about?"

Alec turned to look her straight in the eye as he raised his glass. "Good old dad. He'll be here soon, and then he'll do what he should have two and a half months ago."

Cindy sighed. "You don't know that."

Alec smiled. "He should have done it the minute he found us. Better yet, the minute he met me."

"You ain't making any sense," Cindy said, putting a comforting hand on Alec's shoulder, causing him to flinch.

Alec stood up and moved away from her. "I'm sorry."

"What the hell is going on with you?" Cindy asked, confused.

"Nothing," he answered, agitatedly, trying to shut her down before she started getting too close to the truth.

An idea that didn't seem right started to form in Cindy's brain. "Max says you ain't been in a room alone with her since you been back. You sure as hell you ain't been in a room alone with me, and as far as I can tell, you ain't been alone with any sister for more than five minutes since Max was bushwhacked."

"You been keeping track or something?" Alec asked, in a half joking tone.

Cindy looked at the half deserted bar. The few customers in the place were men.

"Molly says she don't blame you, that it wasn't your fault, that it was hers, but whatever the hell went on, you blame yourself don't you."

"Drop it Cindy," Alec said, ready to bolt.

"You don't trust yourself do you?" Cindy took a step forward, causing Alec to back into the bar. "Jesus Alec, what the hell happened?"

Alec grabbed his jacket and left.

He was sitting on top of the needle, wanting some peace and quiet, wanting the world to go away.

"Thought I'd find you up here," Max said as she climbed out the hatch.

Alec sighed, "I needed some peace and I thought that you could get up here yet."

"I got the same type of stem cells as you do, remember?" she asked, standing in the way of the hatch. "We've been looking for you for the past couple of days."

"Max, leave it," Alec said flatly.

She shook her head. "No."

"Fine then," Alec said turning to look at the city as Max sat down in the hatchway blocking his escape route. They sat there for hours and as the sun came up.

Max slowly moved forward, noting that he was nodding off. She got damn close to him before he realized. He stood up with a start, almost losing his balance, causing Max to grab hold of him.

"Jesus, Alec, you could have fallen," she said as he steadied himself before he pushed her away from him.

"I'm fine. Leave me alone," he said curtly.

Max narrowed her brow. "Cindy was right, wasn't she?"

Alec felt ashamed, looking away from Max. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Like hell she doesn't. What happened Alec? What did they do to you?"

"Max, leave it, please."

"There are only two ways down from here, and unless you tell me what is going on, you aren't taking either one."

He buried his head in his hands as the tears welled up. She looked at him so sympathetically, with such confusion, waiting for him to talk, but all he wanted was her to go away.

"Alec?" Max said firmly, he could see the fear and concern in her eyes. "You are scaring me. Talk to me, please."

So he told her, and he watched as she looked at him in confusion and disgust.

Logan was just shutting off his network as he heard the door go. "Hello?"

She blew in angry, slamming the door behind her, "I need to know everything about Murray, Kentucky."

"Excuse me?" Logan asked as Max stood in front of him. "Can I ask why?"

"Logan, I need to know about any funny business in that town."

"Funny in any particular way?"

"You know what I mean."

"Oh," Logan said. They'd had a few conversations like this lately, generally when someone in an old truck or a baseball cap turned up cornering a young transgenic to ask about if they knew anything 'vacationing' out in some backward truck stop in the middle of nowhere and if they weren't sure then they better check pretty damn fast. "Has one of those hunters turned up?"

Max shook her head. "No, but I need to know."

"Why?"

She looked away from him for a second. "I can't."

"Max, if you want to start poking around records, it might be an idea of giving me a place to start."

She took a breath. "I need to know if people started acting strange, doing anything that was out of character."

"Why?"

She looked at the floor. "Alec."

"You found him?" Logan was surprised. Alec usually turned up when he felt like it, and considering everything that had happened with Molly, Logan didn't think that would be for at least another week.

Max nodded, "I need to know about that town, Logan."

"Sure, but what has that got to do with Alec?"

"Logan, what he said about what happened between him and her, it doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?"

"I found him at the top of the needle, Logan."

"What? Is he all right?"

"I've got Biggs keeping an eye on him. But I got him to talk, and the things he said about what went down and what she said don't make any sense."

"In what way?"

Max sat down before taking a long breath, not sure how to start, or if she should tell Logan at all. But what she had been told, it didn't make any sense.

Logan said nothing for about five minutes after she finished telling him what both parties had said.

"So they are both blaming themselves?"

Max nodded. "Logan, she's saying it's all her fault, and he's saying the same thing."

Logan didn't know what to say. "Alec is many things, but I can't see him doing anything like that. But..."

"But what?"

"Can you be so sure?"

"Excuse me?" she looked at Logan.

Logan took a breath. He wasn't meaning what he was about to say as a way to get at Alec. Hell, in some ways he actually liked the guy. He knew that he and Max were never going to be the same way again. Sure it hurt, but they couldn't go down the road they had been taking before the virus. And the truth of the matter was that as much he sometimes blamed Alec for the virus and the loss of a possible cure, and yes sometimes he was more than a little jealous of how Alec seemed to get away with so much and still be close to Max; what he was about to say had nothing to do with the any of that. "Max, I'm not saying that he did do this, hell I can't see him doing but..."

"Logan!" Max looked at him in disgust. "She says he's not responsible, and don't say that she is in some sort of denial here."

"A lot of victims of assault blame themselves for it until they can process what happened, and that can take years," Logan said.

"No, she knows what she was saying."

"Okay. She's saying that he didn't, that she attacked him, but it was really this ghost thing that was responsible because it, what did she say? 'It was using her as a meat puppet while it mind-controlled Alec?'"

Max nodded, "That is what she said."

"Right, but Max, he's saying that he is responsible, he is saying that he did it," Logan said, to which Max glared at him.

"You've got two different stories here Max, and no offence from what you have told me, Alec's makes a lot more sense than hers."

"His story has the ghost thing in it, too."

"Yes, but he said that she was possessed, acting out of character. That could mean she was on something. Alec found her, they fought, and the next thing he knew, they were having sex. He's not clear on how they got to that point, but they did. One minute they were fighting and the next...," Logan stopped as Max narrowed her stare.

"Yes, I've heard this. He said it was like watching someone be there, not him."

"I know. He's not sure what happened to him, how they got to that point," Logan said. "But he's sure that she definitely wasn't in any state to consent to anything."

"So?"

"The one thing that you can say about Alec is that he may lie through his teeth about the small stuff, but when it comes to the big stuff, eventually, he always comes clean, and when he does, he never paints himself as anything other than what he truly is," Logan said. "Max, I'm not saying this as a way to get at him. Alec has come a hell of a long way since he got out of Manticore, and as screwed up as it is, he has some stupid code of honor that says that, when he has done something and someone, especially you, calls him on it, he tells the truth about it."

"So you are saying that Molly turning up is making him tell us the truth?"

"I don't know. I don't want to believe it, but I trust Alec enough to know that he knows what he is saying, and he is saying that he had sex with a girl that wasn't fully able to consent, that something happened to him that made him act so out of character to do something like this," Logan said. "But that aside, Max, he is saying that he still did it, and considering he was genetically engineered to be immune from nerve toxins, drugs and gases as well as the fact he is at least three times stronger than her it doesn't look good for him."

Max shook her head, "No. This is Alec. There has to be another explanation and not this ghost crap. I know him. Anyway you didn't listen to her. She said it wasn't his fault. She said he didn't attack her."

"I'm sure there is, because there's no way can I see him deliberately doing anything remotely like rape, but you said it yourself, he's been avoiding spending time alone with you, and you said that he's been doing the same thing with Cindy and other women, too. From the sounds of things he's spooked, which means that, whatever went down between them, scared him and that could be because..."

"No don't. Don't say it!"

"Okay, but I don't know what happened, and although you are probably right there, that there is some other explanation, maybe there was something that got to him. You pushing him won't help," Logan said calmly.

"Why not?" Max asked angrily. "What are you saying?"

"Max, all you have is your gut instinct on this, which isn't enough for something like this. So until you can be one hundred percent sure, until he's one hundred percent sure what happened, Max, what triggered him to do it, be careful," Logan said. "And I'm not just that for your sake, but his as well, because if you are right about him being on the edge right now, he must be scared that he is going to do something like this again, that something is going to set him off, so you pushing him on this might not be the best idea."

"I wouldn't push."

"Yes, you would, and you know that will end up in one of two ways, either Alec snapping and hurting someone, whether that is you or someone else, or him doing something stupid to stop himself, because you know that, even though he may not say it, he would."

She clenched her jaw; she hated it when Logan played devil's advocate. "Will you check or not?"

Logan sighed. "Yes, I'll take a look."