Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any characters featured in either of the seasons.

Past Orphan

A.N: Tell me what you think, please!

After Lola confronted Alec about her opinion of the "situation" she decided to take the matter into her own hands. Literally. The day finally came when she waited outside of the school, for Max. When Max waltzed out, Lola sided up to her and grabbed her arm. "You and I are going to take a ride." Max didn't have a chance to react before the other girl opened her car door and closed it in her face, with her inside the car. Lola started moving the car into drive and taking off and neck breaking speed.

"What the fuck are you doing! Are you nuts!" Max yelled as Lola weaved in and out of cars. Lola wasn't fazed at all by the speed or Max's uneasiness of her driving. After a few minutes of driving, they were outside the city and Lola suddenly pulled into a clearing off the road. When the car jerked to a sudden, sliding, stop, Max jumped out of the car as if it was diseased. Lola, on the other hand, calmly turned the car off and proceeded to get out. "ARE YOU NUTS?!" Max shouted at the un-fazed girl.

"Are you ready to wise up, niner?"

"Niner? What?"

"Niner – a little nick-name we all gave you escapees back at Manticore. Now listen up time get your head out of your ass and look at the obvious."

"What are you talking about."

"I'm talking about Alec."

"What?"

"He wasn't Manticore's little bitch, he was quite the opposite." Lola crossed her arms and stared at Max, waiting for the obvious to sink in. "How do you think the feds took down Manticore?"

"I don't know, I never knew. When I asked Alec, he said he wasn't there at the time so he didn't know."

"And how did Alec say he got out of Manticore?"

"Released because of age and clean record…why?" Lola started laughing at this statement, which confused Max immensely.

"Released because of age and clean record, are you serious! That is the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"What…"

"Alec was Manticore's poster child, aside from his twin brother being an escapee, yes. But when he got older, he got bolder and more rebellious. He became friends with a girl that worked as a maid in Manticore, and when the handlers found out, they took care of business, with her and him. After that they watched him like a hawk, and somehow he got out."

"Got out?"

"Got out. He slowly broke into Renfro's office and stole all documents of all the past wards; "adoptions" lists and notes, letters about everything. When he had everything, he went to the feds, Alec took down Manticore." This was not what Max was expecting to hear. "When Biggs said last he had heard Alec was in New York, he was referring to when Alec was placed in protective custody until everything was executed and taken care of." Max just stared at Lola, trying to take in everything she had just been told.

"Alec took down Manticore?" It couldn't sink in; happy go lucky psychopathic Alec did something so major?

"Yeah, and now that you know you can understand when you make comments that he's worthless, I get a little pissed."

"Sorry to bother your boyfriend." Max muttered not looking at Lola, she couldn't.

"Yeah another thing," with that Lola walked up to Max and grabbed her face, and planted a big kiss on her lips, firmly. "Alec is not my type." Max's eyes were wide as saucers and her body was frozen. "Not understand? * laughs * Let me put it this way, Cindy or you would be my first choice." That was another thing Max didn't see coming her way.

"But Alec said that you guys…"

"We messed around at Manticore when the handlers weren't looking. We were horny teenagers and experimenting. After some messing around I found that three legs weren't my thing." Lola shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal or anything new. To her maybe it wasn't, but to Max it was major brand new news. Alec was so going to pay. "Alec insinuated we were an item didn't he?" Max nodded, "We aren't and never were. He likes you and said that to get a rise out of you. You have Logan, why I don't know, but Alec hates him. Understandably."

Max stood outside Alec's door for what seemed like forever. After what seemed like hours, but was only 10 minutes at most, she knocked on the door and waited. Seconds later she heard Alec yell a 'come in,' and she did. But when she did she didn't seem him, or at least not at first. He walked out a few moments later wearing nothing but a blue towel and soaking wet. "Oh, sorry," she diverted her eyes, when what she really wanted to do was look. Alec laughed a little and walked to his bedroom, quickly. Moments later he was dressed in some jeans and pulling on a t-shirt as he walked back out. By then Max had worked her way to his living room window and was staring at her hands like something was bothering.

"So what's up?" Alec asked after his shirt was on and his body was covered from view.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you about what? Going to have to be more specific." Alec furrowed his brow; Max was acting out of character.

"About Manticore." This was getting more confusing by each vague sentence.

"Um, Maxie I did tell you about Manticore. Remember we first met we had that nice talk in here, then awhile later we talked about my-your- we talked about Ben and things we remembered."

"I know, and I'm talking about that. I'm talking about you taking down Manticore with the feds." Alec froze and eyes widened, how did she find out. "Lola cornered me today and told me pretty much everything, at least the basics. I think she kept most of the private stuff to her self." Max hadn't looked at Alec yet, but she could feel him looking at her. "Why didn't you tell me when I told you about Ben?"

"I don't know." He didn't, sure he had been tempted many times, especially that night she told him about their in-common brother, but he had refrained when he had seen what Manticore had already done, it didn't need to be dredged up anymore than it had that night. "I was going to, but after you told me about Ben I felt there was too much already said that night. Telling you…I don't know." Rubbing his neck, he diverted his sight to the scarred wood floor. Max nodded, biting her lip she finally looked up see him staring at the ground and rubbing his neck. A habit they both had when it came to thinking about Manticore. It was probably because of the barcodes they still had etched in their skin.

"Why did you lead me to believe you and Lola were an-"

"An item? I don't know," Alec brushed the subject off by walking into the his kitchen to find something to distract himself.

"Bullshit," Max spat walking towards the kitchen. Alec still didn't look at her

"What do you want me to say Max? Huh? What?"

"The truth for once!"

"Fine yes I took Manticore down, I took them down because they killed the first person I ever truly cared about! They found her bones buried in the fields along with several kids, I was there; I got to show them where things happened and were to find things! Lola isn't my girlfriend and never was, I insinuated otherwise to piss you off, to get a rise out of you I don't know! I just wanted to do something to get some kind of reaction out of you because all you do lately is live and breath Logan and frankly it was pissing me off!" With each sentence Alec had stepped closer to Max until she was backed into the nearest wall and they were sharing oxygen. When he stopped, the both realized their proximity.

For the second time that day, Max got kissed, only this time it was by someone she wanted to be kissed by. When Alec pulled away they stared at each other for a split second before they gravitated to each other again. They probably would've gone further if Biggs, O.C. and Lola didn't walk through the front door and find them in a compromising position. That position being Max hiked up the wall, arms and legs around Alec and him supporting her. "Uh, bad timing?" Lola asked trying to laugh at the deer-caught-in-head-lights looks. "We'll just come back, later…much, much later." The trio backed out, snickering, and closed the door firmly.

"Don't forget protection! Ouch!" They heard Biggs yell from the other side of the door.

With the mood killed, Alec let Max slid down to her feet and suddenly felt very awkward. Max pulled her shirt down that had hiked as she had slid down, and looked everywhere but Alec. "I'm going to go," and she quickly exited the apartment. Leaving Alec to stand staring at the wall trying to calm the raging emotions inside of him.

The next day at school, Max barely acknowledge him the entire day, and it pissed him off to no end. Deciding he wasn't going to let her decide for the both of them, he was going to corner him. Whether that would be hazardous to his health, he wasn't sure, but at least he could say he tried.

When classes were done for the day, Alec rushed out of the building waited by his bike; a lot like the day he and Max became friends. When she came out she didn't see him, too lost in her thoughts. She however did see him when he grabbed her arm and swung her in between him and his bike. "Alec what the hell?"

"This is the only way I was going to get you to talk to me." He stated simply, still holding her arm, "Now you going to explain to me why you ran out of apartment like a bat of hell, and why you've done everything possible to not acknowledge me all day?"

"I haven't."

"Keep telling yourself that, but lying to yourself isn't healthy. Now wanna tell me the truth? Weren't you yesterday yelling at me for not telling you the truth? Let's not be hypocritical now, Maxie."

"Don't-"

"Call you Maxie, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, stop avoiding the questions, Maxie."

"I-"

"Ah fuck it," with that Alec leaned down and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Max pulled him to her, while students around them sent out whistles and catcalls at the two. "You aren't going to go running are you?" He whispered when they came up for air. Max just smiled and pulled him down for a kiss.