All right, let's get these two on the road to recovery.
Chapter Eleven
Max sat back in the chair tilted back on two legs, her ankles crossed and propped on her bed. Alec was lying flat on his back, still asleep. She'd never seen a Transgenic sleep as much as she had in the last few days. She hadn't known it was possible.
There had been a bit of debate when it came time to make Alec disappear from the hospital. Dr. Shankar had offered to take him to her home, but Max hadn't wanted to bring any more trouble to her door, since she'd already endangered the woman's job. After that, Max had considered taking him to his own apartment, but he couldn't be left alone, and she hadn't felt like running back and forth to her own place all the time while he was down. Logan's was out because… well, just because. Joshua's house would have been a possibility, but Joshua couldn't exactly make a run for supplies if they needed something in a hurry and it wasn't the most comfortable for someone trying to convalesce.
That had left Max's place, where O.C. could be her backup. It had been proof of just how bad Alec was feeling that he didn't gripe or make a single creepy comment. Max had helped him inside, he'd dropped onto her bed and he'd instantly fallen asleep.
So far it had worked out. Max had covered Alec up, and pretty much watched him like a hawk. She watched him lie there and wheeze and had refused to sleep for fear he would stop. O.C. had given her a couple of breaks, but other than that, she'd stayed put. Alec had woken a few times and Max had helped him to the bathroom, or given him a little bit of food or something to drink, but then he'd fallen back asleep. Dr. Shankar said it was to be expected. Alec's body had been stressed beyond anything a human could have tolerated, and almost beyond anything a Transgenic could either.
The only bit of satisfaction she had was the news that Sheffield had done them all a service and finally kicked off the day before from the bullet wounds. The guy had been a sociopath who liked slicing up his victims and who'd taken it as a personal affront that Anderson was dead. He'd cut Alec to ribbons, and Max didn't have an ounce of pity for the guy.
Max heard a knock at the door, but didn't move. She knew O.C. would grab it. Sure enough, only a few seconds later, she heard Cindy open the door. Silence followed, and Max tensed when Cindy didn't say anything.
"Can I…" Their guest paused nervously and cleared his throat. "Can I see him?"
Max rolled her eyes. Normal. Of all things. She'd called in to work and told her boss that Alec was back after his imaginary surgery to fix the damage done to him in the ring, but he needed someone to look out for him. Normal had made a few threats, but eventually told her to take care of their Golden Boy.
Normal appeared in the doorway to her bedroom, and wasn't that a sight she'd never, ever, thought to see. Cindy was beside him looking like she was torn between wanting to laugh and disgust that Normal was in their apartment.
"I'm gonna head out," O.C. said. "Not that watching you watch your boy ain't fun and all, but I'm gonna find some company a little more… lively."
Max just smiled. "Sure. No reason for you to stay cooped up too." Not that Max minded staying home, really. She'd had enough excitement to last her a week or two.
"I'll stop at the store 'fore I come back. Anything you wanna add to the list, Suga'?"
"No. Thanks, Cin." O.C. had been an unbelievable help and Max owed her more than just a night of freedom from the apartment. She'd run errands, made calls, and done everything she could while Max refused to leave Alec's side.
Cindy made a hasty exit and Normal stepped in, staring at Alec who was lying on his back, propped up a bit on pillows. His lungs were better, but he was still breathing shallowly, working to draw breath. The healing was going slower because of the extent of the damage, not to mention the repeat performance, but thankfully, the partially healed knife wounds to his face were on the opposite side from Normal's point of view, and wouldn't be too obvious. The damage from the beating was fading, but still there, and Max hoped Normal would think it was swelling and bruising due to the supposed medical procedures. She didn't know how to explain it otherwise.
"How is he?" Normal asked a little too loudly. Max sent him a nasty look and he actually looked sorry. He was carrying a basket the size of a small car. He set it down on the floor and Max saw that it held all sorts of goodies. There were vitamins, sports drinks, cookies, candy, real fruit, some packaged jerky, fresh eggs, and a bottle of Scotch. It was everything a growing boy could ask for.
"Better," Max said quietly. "Sleeping a lot."
"What happened to him? His face is swollen and-" He waved his hand to basically all of Alec. Normal wasn't really as dumb as all that and the abdominal breathing was a dead giveaway. He could tell this was bad.
"He went in for the surgery and he died on the table." That much at least was the truth. "There were complications and his lungs collapsed. That's why his breathing is weird." She shook her head. "He was getting better and I thought he was gonna get to come home, and then something else went wrong with his lungs and they had to do more surgery."
Normal blanched. "What kind of quack doctor did he go to?"
Max shook her head. "She was a specialist." At least as much as they could find for a Transgenic outside Manticore. "If he'd gone anywhere else he'd probably be dead. It… it was close." She reached out and took Alec's hand, his uninjured one. It didn't make any difference to him, but Max had caught herself reaching out again and again for comfort. She needed the reassurance he was still alive.
Unfortunately, the action drew Normal's attention to Alec's still-bandaged fingers. Normal pointed and frowned. "What happened to his hand?"
"Tendon damage," Max answered, using the first thing that came to mind. "While they were working on the rest," and she definitely chose to leave that vague, "they had to repair his hand, too."
Alec's fingers had been reattached and they were part of the main reason Alec had needed to be removed from the hospital. Normally, there would have been all sorts of worry over whether the fingers could be saved and how well the surgery had worked. Alec's fingers had speedily decided to accept the return trip home and along with his healing face, the nurses had started to make noises about how well he was looking and how quickly.
"Fighter's hands," Normal said gravely. "It's a dangerous craft."
Max didn't roll her eyes, but it was close. What was dangerous was running a sting on a mobster and not telling her what he was up to.
Normal nodded. He bent down and set a hand against Alec's blanket covered leg. He patted it fondly. "Keep fighting, buddy. You're my rock star. You can do it."
There was no reaction, just the continued shallow, slightly labored breathing.
Normal straightened and cleared his throat. "I'll expect you both back at work as soon as possible."
"Yeah. Gotta pay for this palace." She waved to her apartment. "But don't worry. We'll be there."
Normal nodded, cast a last worried glance at Alec, and then headed out, without so much as a, "Bip, bip."
Max waited until the front door closed and then let out the breath she'd been holding.
Alec's hand tightened on hers. "He gone?" Alec asked, barely more than a mumble.
"Yeah." She waited for him to pull away from her, but his grip only tightened. He cracked one eye open and looked at her.
"Please, tell me he didn't kiss me."
"It was just a little peck," she answered dryly. "He wanted you to know you're loved."
Alec groaned and turned on his side. His breath hitched as the pain from his damaged ribs hit, and he finally released her hand, pressing it to his chest. "You're hilarious, Max. I bet you took a comedy class back at Manticore."
"Yeah. Got an A, too. Lydecker called me Laugh-a-Minute Max." She didn't feel particularly funny though. When Alec turned, it turned the damaged side of his face toward her. The healing pink slashes were better, but she could still see the damage Sheffield had done. The hospital had actually called in a plastic surgeon to put Alec back together, and like all of the other physical evidence, it would fade in a few more days. For the moment, however, it was still a stark reminder of how close death had come.
"How long I been out?" he asked.
"Four or five hours this time." Each time was shorter. Pretty soon, he wasn't going to need her to stand guard any more.
Alec just grunted. "All this sleep, you'd think I wouldn't be so tired."
Max shrugged. "That's what happens when you put your body through a meat grinder."
"Yeah." Alec sighed and closed his eyes again.
"Don't go back to sleep yet. You need to eat something."
"Ok," he answered, but didn't open his eyes again.
Max got up and hurried to the kitchen. She had some leftover soup from her last attempt to feed him. She'd been keeping it warm on the burner for when he woke up. She dumped some in a mug, and hurried back to the bed. She'd quickly learned not to give him the option of going back to sleep, or he'd drop back off almost immediately.
"Can you sit up?" she asked.
Alec's eyelids fluttered, and she knew she'd barely made it in time. She watched as he braced himself and then turned carefully, shifting to sit. Max repositioned the pillows behind him so he didn't actually sit up all the way, just leaned a bit. It would hurt him too badly to sit up straight.
Alec accepted the mug with both hands and brought it to his lips. It was awkward because of the bandaging on his injured hand, but he managed. "Thanks," he said, and began to sip carefully.
Max just nodded and sat back down. She guessed he would make it through half the mug before he got tired or nauseated and quit.
Alec looked at her and for the first time, she could tell he was actually seeing her. He'd been pretty out of it since the hospital. "Max, why are you doing this?"
"Because you're an idiot and someone has to look out for you?"
"Yeah, but…" He took another sip. "Nevermind."
Max sighed. "Because you're my friend, Alec. You needed help and that's what I'm doing." Max was done with hiding. This whole mess was partially her fault. She'd used Alec to hide from Logan and the results had been disastrous.
Alec just looked at her, an odd expression on his face, like he wasn't sure what to make of that answer. "Since when am I your friend?"
Max shrugged. "You don't want me to be a friend?"
"No!" he said, straightening automatically. He hissed in pain and almost dropped the mug. Only Max's quick reflexes kept him from dropping it on the bed and himself. "Sorry," he bit out, wrapping an arm around his chest.
Max set the mug aside and helped him ease back onto the bed. "Idiot," she said, but with no real heat behind it.
"I know, I know," he said through gritted teeth.
She studied him, not wanting to overtax him when she knew he was struggling. Still, she wanted to know the answer to her question. "Now… did that 'no' mean you don't want me to be your friend, or you do?" she asked.
Alec waited several seconds, his breathing stuttering as he tried to make it through the wave of pain. Finally, he opened his eyes again. "I guess… I could use a good friend," he answered.
Max nodded. "Yeah. Guess we all could." She pulled the blanket back up to cover him. "Go back to sleep," she said. "I'll be here when you wake up. Then when you're better, we can have a real talk."
The wrap up soon… Might be tomorrow or maybe the day after. The last chapter turned into a bit of a monster, so it might take a bit longer to spruce up.