Well, here it is, ladies and gents. Thank you for each and every kind word. For the person who keeps anonymously sending the not so kind words… One, go find a story you do like. Two, eat a cookie. It will help. Helps me anyway. To the very kind (and funny) lady who was attacked by a spider while reviewing, I hope you've sent it to its well deserved doom!
Chapter Twelve
Max heard Alec shift on the bed. She looked up from the eggs she was cooking to check on him, but didn't go. Alec was better, and he was starting to get annoyed with her hovering, not that he'd said anything. He turned slowly and sat up on the side of the bed. He ran his hand through his hair, brushing his now mostly healed fingers over the bare patch where they'd shaved his hair around his ear to stitch him up.
Alec held his breath and then pushed himself to his feet. Max had to force herself not to go to him, despite how badly he was weaving. After a few seconds, he steadied and slowly straightened, one hand wrapped protectively around his ribcage, the other held out in case he wobbled and fell.
"You want some eggs?" Max called.
"Uh… yeah," he answered after a second. "You mind… if I take a shower first?"
"You sure you're up to it?"
"No. But I stink. I'm gonna try."
His smile was self-conscious, but Max was happy to see it reappear nevertheless. It felt like forever. She'd been dealing with the fake anger and standoffish behavior before the beating, and since then, all she'd seen was exhaustion and pain.
"Hang on. I've got a plastic stool. I can put it in the tub."
"Well, that's not humiliating at all."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather fall and mess yourself up again?"
"No." His expression turned bashful, heading toward real embarrassment. "Feel bad enough I've been hogging your bed for… however long I've been here."
She shrugged and grabbed the plastic stool O.C. kept to climb on to reach the upper cabinets. She took it into the bathroom and set it in the tub. It wobbled a bit, but it would do. She then went back into the bedroom and grabbed some clothes that she'd raided from his apartment after they'd come home from the hospital. She set them on the toilet and then walked back out.
"There you go. Let me know if you need anything else."
Alec gave her an odd look, as if he still couldn't figure her out. "Thanks."
"Or, you know… yell or whatever if you're gonna pass out."
He nodded and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. For a moment, she worried he wouldn't be able to get into the claw foot tub, but decided to let him handle it himself. He could do with a morale boost.
Max went back to the eggs and pulled them off the burner. She put a plate on top of the pan to keep them warm and then sat to wait for him to finish his shower. It gave her a minute to collect herself. Now that he was awake and they were overdue for a real talk, she was getting more and more nervous. She had never been good with words and… feelings and… pretty much anything other than hitting stuff. She'd told him they needed to talk though, and she was going to do it.
Finally, when Max was ready to jump out of her skin, Alec opened the door to the bathroom. He was pink from the heat of the water, but that was a false sense of health. Max was off the sofa and at his side in the blink of an eye.
Alec draped his arm over her shoulder without protest and allowed her to help him to the couch. "Sorry," he said breathlessly. "Who knew a shower could knock out Manticore's best?"
"I did just fine this morning, thanks. You on the other hand had your ass handed to you."
Alec let out the barest hint of a laugh. "Walked right into that one."
Max eased him down and then sat carefully beside him, although turned so that she was facing him. Alec took several moments to settle and to let his breathing slow after all the exertion.
"So… you wanted to talk," he finally said. "I still don't get why you're doing all this. I keep expecting you to yell at me and kick me out."
"I still might, but… I need to ask something first."
Max had been thinking about it. She hadn't had much else to do while she sat there and watched Alec sleep. She'd spent a lot of time being mad at Logan for keeping the operation from her and she'd spent a lot of time being mad at Alec, too. She understood why Logan had done it. Alec though…
"Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?"
Alec shrugged and winced. "Logan didn't think it would work unless I cut ties with everybody and made it look real. Anderson was paranoid about new people."
"And Logan is the expert on undercover operations, not the trained, you know, operative."
"I agreed with him… mostly."
"Uh huh. But that's Logan. Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were … closer than that." After the night she'd told him about Ben, things had been different between them.
Alec gave her a sidelong glance, and let his head fall back on the sofa. Finally, he sighed and said, "Anderson was looking for you. I had to take him down before he found you."
"What?" Max blinked in surprise. "He was looking for me? Why?"
"Your DNA. Some Manticore files are floating around saying you don't have any junk DNA. Apparently you're the Holy Grail in science circles. There was a picture of you as a kid attached to the info, but not a current one thankfully. Still, there were other things about you and they were closing in. All the stuff in the news about Manticore means they guessed you're here in town somewhere and you're worth a fortune. Logan's been getting rid of the files anytime he finds them, and of course, hiding your trail, but Anderson was already on the hunt."
"What was he gonna do if he found me?"
"Sell you. Along with all kinds of illegal activities, he was a middle man who'd find expensive things for people. The group that asked him to find you was offering big money, but when he put out the word, other buyers lined up. You're not as invisible as you'd like to think, Max. Along with the Manticore stuff, you left your DNA at a couple of your heist jobs, and a few witnesses gave a description. He had it narrowed down to a neighborhood or two to look for you. I couldn't let you go anywhere near him. I thought about telling you anyway, but you'd have gone in all guns blazing."
"I don't do guns."
"You know what I mean, Max. You don't do subtle."
"So you acted all crazy and went it alone."
He nodded and gave her a chagrined smirk. "I was trying to keep you away from him, and then you just showed up at the bar. I nearly had a heart attack when you walked into the basement."
"What was I supposed to do? You set off your distress signal."
Alec frowned. "Logan was supposed to call the Sector Cops and get them to help."
"Well, that was a lousy plan. The Sector Police are the ones who handed you over in the first place. They'd have walked into the basement, looked at you, and then picked up a pair of pliers to help pull out your teeth."
"Maybe." Alec grimaced at that thought. "Not all of them are on his payroll. Either way, it still would have kept you out of his sights."
"You did all of this to protect me?" Her voice was quiet, almost timid, and she hated it, but it came out nonetheless.
Alec looked away from her. "You're a bad influence, Max. I should've cut and run months ago, but…"
"But you couldn't. You keep helping me and the rest of us Manticore freaks."
"Yeah, I guess." He cleared his throat nervously. "Thanks, by the way."
"For what?"
"Everything. The basement, the apartment, the hospital, here." He waved toward the bed where she'd been looking after him. "You saved me, Max. I don't know why you keep saving me, but you do, so… thanks."
"Same reason you keep trying to save me, I guess. Cause I care what happens to you." It wasn't the same as saying I care about you, but… baby steps.
Alec still looked stunned at her admission. Be patient, Mrs. Anderson had said. Alec barely understood friendship, let alone anything more. Don't give up on him.
He wouldn't look her in the eye, but nodded. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, but it was different now that he was awake. Max remembered the look on his face in the elevator when he'd thought he was going to die. She'd kissed his forehead and told him to hold on. She wondered if he even remembered.
"In any case… you're welcome," she said. "Next time though, let's not fight the bad guys while your lungs are collapsing, ok?"
"Done."
They both jumped when there was a knock on the door. "Expecting someone?" Alec asked.
"Nope." She raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Normal wants to check on you again."
Alec groaned. "Not funny, Max."
Max got up and went to the door. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was waiting there. "Mrs. Anderson!"
"Hello, Max. May we come in?" Mrs. Anderson was in another flowered dress and cozy cardigan like she had been before, but she looked less careworn than when Max had seen her last. She was still tired, but she just seemed to stand a little taller. Maybe being out from under her psycho son's thumb was freeing, even if she did have to off him herself to win that freedom.
Max stepped back and let Mrs. Anderson come in, followed by a young, dark haired man in a suit who she could tell was a fed.
"This is Eddie. He's here to look after me," Mrs. Anderson explained.
Max nodded in Eddie's direction, but he was barely paying any attention to her. "Five minutes, ma'am. I'm already breaking protocol."
"I know, I know." Mrs. Anderson waved at him impatiently. "Will you wait out in the hall, please? I'd like to have a word in private."
Eddie didn't like it, but he nodded and went back out in the hall, closing the door behind him.
"There," Mrs. Anderson said. "Now, may I see…" She trailed off when she saw Alec. He was struggling to stand up from the sofa, and Max rolled her eyes. She rushed around to help him and Mrs. Anderson did the same, although she was slower.
"Don't be an idiot," Max scolded him. "Sit back down."
Alec stubbornly remained on his feet. He turned toward Mrs. Anderson who had tears in her eyes as she looked at him, no doubt cataloguing all the healing injuries.
"Oh, honey," she said, and carefully folded Alec's larger frame in her arms. For his part, Alec did the same, hugging the frail, old woman just as carefully.
"Hi, Minnie."
Mrs. Anderson laughed, a wet sob of a laugh against Alec's chest. She straightened, already shaking her head. "Don't you 'hi, Minnie' me, you crazy boy." She wagged her finger at him. "You nearly got yourself killed and I'm here to give you a piece of my mind."
Alec smiled at her antics, a smile Max had rarely seen on his face. It wasn't a knowing smirk, or a sarcastic grin, or any of his repertoire of world weary smiles. It was an honest, amused grin.
"Save your breath, Minnie. Max is already on it, and it sounds like you've only got a couple of minutes."
Mrs. Anderson pulled back so she could look up at him. "Has she already yelled at you?"
"She's almost hoarse," he assured her. "She'll be telling me I'm an idiot until the day I die."
"Good," she said. "And that day better be a long, long time from now. You understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said, with all of the genuine respect he'd never given to a Manticore commanding officer. "Where are they taking you?" he asked more gently.
"Witness protection," she answered. "It's not safe for me or my son. The organization will find another thug to lead them, and they won't like how much I know and how much information I'm giving the authorities. I… I won't be able to see you again."
Alec looked genuinely sorry about that. He really liked her, much as it still confused Max to see it. "I'll miss being able to talk to you," he said, in all seriousness.
"Me, too." She sniffed and pulled a hanky from where she'd tucked it in her sleeve. "But you've got Max. Promise me you'll talk to her. You two need each other and since I don't have time to dilly dally, I'm just going to say it outright."
"Minnie," Alec said with a hint of warning.
"No, Alec. You two need each other. I don't know her the way I know you, but I know what you've told me, and that's good enough. Don't waste time you can't get back. You hear me?"
Alec nodded. "Of course."
"And since Max doesn't have a gentleman friend anymore, she'll definitely need someone to talk to. You've listened to me plenty. Now you can listen to her when she needs it."
"What?"
Max wasn't sure which part of that had him hung up until he twisted, wincing and pressing a hand to his ribs.
"What happened with Logan?"
Max just shrugged. "We're done. Should have come to my senses before, but better late than never, I guess."
"Max, none of this was his fault. I-"
Max held up a hand to stop him. "We can talk about that later." She pointed toward Mrs. Anderson. "She can't stay long."
Alec nodded and turned back. "Sorry, Minnie."
"Oh, don't mind me," she laughed. "It will give me something good to think about after I leave. I'll think about you two and whatever adventure you might get up to next." She patted his chest affectionately. "I will miss you, my boy. You have a good heart. It's seen too much, but even so you've found your way, thank the Good Lord. I wish my own son…"
"Minnie," Alec said, uncomfortable with so much honesty.
"No. No time, remember." She gave him a watery smile. "My son was an evil man. I raised him to be better than that, but I failed him somewhere along the way. You, though, you were raised with evil all around, but you still found the light, and I think your friend, Max, has helped with that."
"She has." He glanced in her direction. "I owe her a lot," he added, and Max acknowledged it with a tiny smile.
"I wish my son had been more like you," Mrs. Anderson said matter-of-factly. "Thank you for saving me."
Alec hugged her again, and Max suspected it was because he was too broken up to say anything. She knew she was.
Mrs. Anderson pulled back, and visibly forced herself to step away from Alec. He watched her as she walked to the door, heartbreak on his face.
Mrs. Anderson had her hand on the doorknob when Alec stopped her. "Minnie?"
"Yes, honey?"
"You know… Max and I… you know what we were trained to do." Mrs. Anderson just raised her eyebrows in question. "Maybe one day, when it's safer, we'll stop by to see how you're doing."
"Think you can track me down?" she asked, hope dawning. "Agent Porter says once I do this, no one will be able to find me."
Alec just smiled. "I'll see you around, Minnie."
Mrs. Anderson laughed. "I'll count on it then." She opened the door and closed it behind her, leaving only the sound of retreating steps as she and Eddie left.
"Sit," Max ordered, and Alec practically fell onto the sofa with an oof. "Idiot," she added, affectionately. "Not like she doesn't know you're hurt. You didn't have to be all macho and stand there the whole time."
"Yes, I did," he grumbled.
Max remembered him trying so hard in the car to convince Mrs. Anderson his injuries weren't her fault, so in his mind, maybe he did.
Max walked to the kitchen and served up the eggs on a pair of plates and brought it to over. Alec took his and his eyes narrowed. "These are from Normal, aren't they?"
Max had to laugh at his expression. "Yeah. Gotta get his golden boy back in fighting shape."
They ate in silence, but it only took a couple of minutes to finish the eggs. Max took the plate from him, and walked it back to the sink. She returned with a glass of milk, and handed it over.
"You should drink it all. You need the tryptophan. Your body's massively overloaded trying to fix you."
He complied without comment, just as he had done everything since she'd brought him to her apartment. It was… odd. She was used to him giving her guff about everything.
"Was any of it true?" she asked. The question had been burning in her mind for days.
"Any of what?" he asked.
"That stuff about wanting to use your skills. You know… missing Manticore and all that."
"Oh. Sort of," he admitted. "I get the itch sometimes when I haven't done anything for days except ride around and deliver packages." He smirked. "Thankfully, we usually have some sort of disaster pop up and we get to rush to the rescue. It helps."
"Makes sense, I guess." Max tried to keep her voice even, but she could feel the tears beginning to gather. Maybe it was everything catching up to her, but her chest was beginning to ache with the remembered fear and tension, and now with relief spreading through her like fire. She didn't have time to let it all catch up to her now any more than when she'd been so terrified that he was following in Ben's footsteps, but her mind and body didn't seem to be quite in agreement.
"Whoa," he said, seeing her reaction. He set the glass of milk aside. "Max?"
"I'd hit you if you weren't so messed up." Max felt a tear trickle down her cheek and brushed it away roughly. "I was sure you were going nuts like Ben."
Alec turned so he was looking at her. It hurt him to do it, but he did it anyway. He reached out to grab her hand, and she wondered if he'd been awake enough to know how often she'd reached for him in the past few days.
"Max, I'm sorry," he said, and it was such an echo of what he'd said that night when she'd told him about Ben, that it made her heart constrict in her chest. Max covered her mouth to stop a sob from escaping. Just like that night, Alec put his arm around her and leaned in to pull her close. "I'm so sorry," he continued. "I had to keep you safe. I couldn't let that guy find you. It doesn't make it ok, but I had to protect you."
"Even if he had found me, I could've fought my way out," she said, wiping at another tear. She didn't pull away from him though.
"I couldn't get away, Max," he confessed softly. "Believe me, I tried, and they still nearly tore me to shreds."
"That's because you're an idiot."
"Maybe," he admitted. "Still couldn't let them get their hands on you."
Max was quiet for several moments as it sank in. Yes, Alec had let himself be tortured to keep them away from Mrs. Anderson, but it had been more than that. He'd been there to protect her. He'd let them beat and stab him nearly to death for her.
"Why didn't you just tell them when you were still strong enough to fight your way out?" she whispered. "We could have found Mrs. Anderson again later, or I could have hid out for a while until we took him down some other way."
Alec's expression turned mulish. "Not an option. Manticore at least taught me how to get through an interrogation, especially a pitiful excuse for one like Anderson's goon squad."
"The one time in your life you refuse to talk and it nearly kills you." She huffed in disbelief.
"Hey, I thought you'd be impressed. You're always telling me to shut it. Maybe I finally caught on."
"Didn't seem to stop you from telling Mrs. Anderson all about me though, did it?" she accused.
Alec shifted uncomfortably. "Minnie's a good listener."
"So you told her all about Manticore? All about me?"
"It just sort of… happened. She's easy to talk to."
"She told me…"
"What?" Alec asked when she faltered.
Max wanted to chicken out. She could admit that much to herself. She'd started this though. "She said you were always telling her about me. In the back of the car, she called me your girl."
He backed off, horror plain on his face. He obviously hadn't remembered that bit. "Max, I didn't-"
"She also said you thought you weren't good enough for me."
Alec closed his mouth with a clack, and remained suspiciously silent. Apparently, Mrs. Anderson hadn't been exaggerating.
"You know that's crazy right?"
"That I'm not good enough? Or that I'm not good enough for you?" he asked pointedly.
"Both," she answered.
"Max, you've called me a screw up since we met. And the things I've done… You don't know what…"
"I know you. Yeah, I've been a bitch to you a lot of times, but," her lips turned up at one corner, "it's just kind of how I roll. And yeah, we did things Manticore made us do and people died and people got hurt. There's nothing we can do about that except try to move on."
"Max, I saw your face when I shot the guy in the basement. Same with the two guys at the apartment."
"Alec…" Max paused. While Alec was down, she'd given a lot of thought to what happened. "I'm not saying I would necessarily make the same choices, but… I understand why you did it. They were bad guys. They'd hurt you already, and they were more than happy to kill us. We were in a mess, and you did what you needed to do to save Mrs. Anderson. So, I'm not gonna cut you down for it."
Alec shook his head. "I don't know what to say."
Be patient. Don't give up on him.
"Don't have to say anything, I guess. We're good."
Alec cocked his head to the side, and glanced at her. "You want to tell me about Logan? I was serious when I said this wasn't his fault. He was already trying to take down Anderson when he found out the guy was looking for you and brought me in. He was trying to help."
"I know." Max shook her head. "Doesn't change that we're done. All of this just made me realize it was over."
"Max, I-"
"Part of why I realized I was done with Logan," she said, cutting him off, "was because I was worrying so much about you." She had to say it now or she was going to lose her nerve. "I tried to ignore it, but it got worse and worse until all I could think about was making sure you were ok."
"Well, I'm fine now, so-"
She smacked him lightly on the arm. "You try to brush me off while I'm spilling my guts, and it's not going to go well for you."
Alec's lips twitched in amusement. "Gonna beat me up?"
"Something like that."
Max leaned closer to him and kissed him. It was more than a peck, but she didn't linger either. She wanted him to know that she hadn't been worried about him just because he was a guy who used to hang around Jam Pony. It wasn't because he was somebody she knew from Manticore. She'd been worried because it was him, and she cared about him.
"Max," he whispered, shocked.
"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow, almost a dare.
"At the hospital… I remember… But I thought I dreamed it." His brow furrowed as he thought, trying to remember. "You kissed me." He touched his fingers to his forehead.
"Yeah." She shrugged. "And I might do it again. Depends on you, doesn't it?"
"What?" He still looked like he'd been sucker punched, and wasn't quite sure what was happening.
"I've been worried about you for weeks. I care about you, and I'm going to keep caring about you. Where we go from here depends on y-"
Alec pulled her to him and kissed her like a dying man grasping at his last few seconds of life and breath. It had to be hurting him. There was no way it wasn't, but he didn't seem to care. She felt his arm wrap around her, one hand pressed to her back. The other hand was tangled in her hair, his palm warm against her cheek. She could feel his chest expanding and contracting as he breathed, the muscles in his back as they moved beneath her hands.
Alec twisted trying to draw her closer and suddenly gasped, the pain finally punching through the haze of the kiss. He pulled back, his face an agonized mask, and Max helped him lean against the sofa. When that didn't help, she rose from the sofa and helped him stretch out, lifting his legs. She ran to the bed and grabbed a couple of pillows to prop him up a bit.
Max knelt at his side, taking his hand and waiting while the pain calmed and he was no longer gasping for breath.
"Layin' down, miserable…," he said, his voice rough. "Gonna fall asleep… in a minute. So, right… back where we were."
Max let out a puff of a laugh. "I don't know. Feels kinda different to me."
Alec opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. He raised her hand with his so he could see it, and then let it fall back, still clasping it tightly. "I still don't get how it happened, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth."
Max gave him a good glare. "You saying I have horse DNA?"
Alec snorted. "Don't give me that. You know that phrase."
"Maybe. I still might call Normal to watch you while I go out for a while."
"You wouldn't."
"He could help you with your bath next time."
His eyes narrowed in warning. "Max…"
"You need to talk to him anyway about getting your job back," she added coyly.
"You think I'm going back to Jam Pony?"
"You're going back to Jam Pony if I have to drag you back myself."
"I might let you," he yawned, "I need a little more excitement in my life."
Max fought down the shiver that statement brought on. Alec wasn't Ben. He was far, far from being like poor Ben. He was an idiot of epic proportions, but he wasn't Ben. "Excitement, huh?"
"Most excitement we have is when Sketch trips over his own feet on the way to his bike."
"That's not true. Sometimes he trips when gets off the bike, too."
Alec's lips quirked up on one side. "True." His eyelids fluttered closed, and then opened again as he fought sleep.
"How about I promise if you stick with me, there'll always be plenty of excitement."
Alec laughed, then grimaced as his ribs jabbed at him. "Now I know I must've died. You kissed me and now you're flirting."
Max felt her cheeks turning red. "I meant there'll always be some disaster for us to fix, you moron."
"Sure, Max." His voice was beginning to slur, but he was still smiling. "Fine. I'll go make nice with Normal and get my job back."
Max stood back up and went to the bed. She pulled the blanket off and walked back, shaking it out. She settled it over him, and smoothed it over his chest, tucking it in a bit.
"You promise?" he asked sleepily. His eyes had once again fluttered closed, but this time they stayed that way.
"Promise what? Excitement? We'll always have somebody to fight, Alec. This world is crap."
"Promise to… stick with me," he said, trailing off.
Max was silent as she realized what she'd said. Stick with me, there'll always be excitement. Mrs. Anderson had been right. The two of them… they barely understood friendship, let alone more. But together… maybe they could learn. She'd been in a holding pattern with Logan, stuck going in circles. She didn't want to be stuck anymore. She didn't want the thought of loving someone to hurt anymore, or for the idea of love to be attached to a hollow, hopeless feeling in her chest.
Max raised his legs up and sat on the sofa, letting him rest with his feet in her lap. It was really the only part of him that it wouldn't hurt him to move. The movement woke him slightly, but his eyes fluttered closed again, accompanied by a sigh of contentment.
It was weird, thinking of Alec as someone she could stick with. When she'd met him, he was the very last person she'd thought she could ever count on, or someone who would become such an integral part of her life. She'd thought he would bail at the first opportunity, and now he was a guy who nearly died to protect her and to save an old lady.
Max tucked the blanket over Alec's legs and feet, then rested her hand on top, the warmth from his skin quickly seeping through the blanket and into her fingers. Alec was always like that, everything about him quietly, or sometimes not so quietly, getting under her skin.
She'd come close to losing him, too close. Alec had made mistakes and so had she, combining to create the nearly fatal situation.
She wasn't going to let that happen again. Max's fingers tightened around his ankle.
"You trying to bruise the only working part I have left?" Alec murmured.
"Sorry, just…"
"Not going anywhere, Maxie," he said, his voice heavy with sleep.
Max nodded. She shifted from beneath his legs, scooting so that she could stretch out beside him. Alec shifted so she could fit, and Max settled with his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder. She momentarily held her hand over his chest, not sure where to place it that wouldn't hurt him.
"Not made of glass either," he said. He patted his chest and Max lightly set her hand there over his heart. She felt the steady thump beneath her hand and smiled. That steady beat… she could get used to that. She could get used to being able to touch someone she cared about.
"S'crazy. Still think I might be dead, but," his arm tightened around her, "I could get used to this," he said, as if reading her thoughts.
"Yeah," Max said, "me too." She closed her eyes, and for the first time in weeks, she fell asleep, certain that tomorrow was going to be better than today.
And there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!