Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the TV show Dark Angel. I do however own Retha from one of my other fics ITHOB. I am ignoring the runes in this story.

Author's Note: Unless otherwise noted, during all of Max's memory cut scenes, her current thoughts/feelings/actions will appear in normal font. The actual memories will be italics. Wherever possible, I've tried to group dialogue and such from the memory together in easily readable segments. However, most of her thoughts and monologues should be read as happening at the same time overtop of the memory segments (which would be happening in the background). Clear as mud? I hope not.

Author's Note: I am neither a doctor nor a nurse, so please excuse any medical inaccuracies contained herein. I've researched as best I can with the time I have available...

Chapter 4

Day 1 – 2025Jan06 – Approximately 4:00 pm…

Max emerged out of the mist and into the long white corridor with a heavy sigh, feeling cold and lonely without the feel of Alec's arms wrapped around her. And wishing she could've just stayed where she was, where she'd felt safe and warm and loved.

She could still remember to this day how wonderful it had felt waking up in his arms early that next morning to lazy lingering kisses and gentle arousing caresses, his face burrowing into the crook of her neck as his hands had played over her body. He'd frozen for a moment when he'd realized she was awake, and then tried to downplay the significance of it all. Which had been more than fine with her, since she hadn't been ready or able to face how right the previous night had felt either.

He'd quickly claimed a need – a duty really - to make sure that her heat was completely taken care of before letting her leave. 'After all,' he'd said with a hint of his usual snark, 'it'd be pretty embarrassing if you had a relapse in the middle of HQ, and you don't want that happening now do you?' She'd snorted at the lame excuse, but hadn't been able to resist the playful and utterly sexy promise in his eyes, barely mustering a token display of protest as she'd let him persuade her to have sex one more time. Just to be safe of course.

And after, like an absolute idiot, she'd immediately insisted on returning things to status quo between them, throwing herself back into the demands of running their struggling little nation, and continuing to work with him strictly as per usual. Unwilling to run the risk of potentially screwing up their slowly developing working partnership and friendship with sex - at least until her next heat came knocking. She couldn't help but laugh as she recalled the look she'd put on his face that steamy afternoon nearly five months later.

His eyes had damn near bugged out of his head when he'd glanced up distractedly from his paperwork to find her slinking into his office looking all hot and bothered; one deceptively delicate hand caressing the taut caramel skin of her abdomen and dipping down to play beneath the waistband of her midrise denim shorts. Pausing for a second to lock the door behind her, she'd swiftly proceeded to straddle his lap and rub up against him as she nipped at his earlobe and murmured seductively, 'You maybe up for helpin' a girl out again?'

He would've had to have been a saint to refuse her - something he'd never once claimed to be. And after christening his chair, one of the walls, and his desk to her extreme satisfaction? Well, after that it'd become an unspoken agreement that she'd come see him for 'help' whenever that time of year rolled around. And it had worked for them. For the most part anyway.

Forcibly pulling herself away from those thoughts, as they certainly weren't getting her anywhere, she looked up and down the long empty hallway with another sigh, unsure of what to do next. "Should I just hang out here and hope to wake back up into the real world soon?" she wondered aloud as she continued walking along slowly. "Assuming I'm just unconscious that is. Or do I maybe need to wait to heal up from whatever injury might be causing this?"

Wrapping her arms around herself in an instinctive search for comfort as she considered all the angles, she absentmindedly began stroking the luxurious dark teal silk of the lingerie set Alec had given her for their one year 'anniversary' a few weeks back. "Is there maybe some other reason I'm here? Something important I'm missing that I need to see or remember before I can go home?"

She frowned, beginning to get more than a little frustrated with the whole situation. "Hell, I need to figure out how I wound up here in the first place, so I can tell what I'm actually dealing with here."

Leaning back against the nearest wall, she tried to remember exactly what she'd been doing before she woke up on that beach, carefully retracing her steps as best she could recall. "Alright, so I know Joshua was hanging out with me in our apartment because Alec... he had to go down to HQ to take care of a few things. And I was really excited about something… he'd promised to take me out somewhere nice tonight… to celebrate..."

"Oh my God! Our baby!" Gasping as she looked down at her still flat abdomen, and a bit shocked that she could have forgotten something so vitally important even considering her current circumstance, she dropped her hands down to rest there. Brushing her fingers gently over the new life growing within her, a soft smile lit up her face as she remembered how it had come about.

With the relative safety they'd finally managed to achieve, quite a few of their people had officially started pairing off and settling down over the past year and a half, which had naturally resulted in an ever-growing number of cute and cuddly little babies making their appearance as well. And after Alec had convinced her to mate with him, she'd been bitten by the baby bug too. The thought of finally having a proper family of her own that no one could take away from her, a wistful dream that had been lingering in the back of her mind for a long long time, never quite taking shape until now if only due to circumstance.

It had taken a little bit of coaxing on her part to talk Alec into it, as he hadn't been sure what kind of father he'd actually make, but he'd agreed to stop using condoms and let nature take its course. And once he'd done that, well he'd certainly gotten on board with the creative process, insisting on 'practicing' at every available opportunity, loving the sensation of being joined with her with absolutely nothing separating them.

But with how busy they'd been and all the stress they'd been under the past month, she hadn't even realized she was overdue for her heat. At least not until yesterday, when it'd already been several days later than the longest cycle she'd ever had. It'd been an easy enough matter after that though to grab a test kit from the med ward using the pretext of needing to pick up their supply list, and perhaps a bit harder to drum up the courage to actually take the damn thing with how nervous she was. But she'd done it early that morning, sneaking off into the bathroom before Alec was properly awake.

Seeing those two pink lines on the test strip had absolutely floored her. She'd had to check the instructions and the results four times, with trembling hands, before she'd finally been able to believe the wonderful news.

Smiling, she traced that thought farther. She'd run out to tell Alec right away of course, damn near to vibrating out of her skin she was so keyed up. And the look on his face had been priceless. Sleepy bemusement had given way to pride and then a smirk of pure male cockiness that he'd managed to get her pregnant so soon. Followed almost immediately after by a beatific grin as he'd pulled her down on top of him and kissed her senseless.

It'd taken them a while to get out of bed what with the immediate 'celebration' he'd instigated, and then he'd ended up doting on her, asking her if she felt alright and offering to get things for her and help her to the bathroom. Even grabbing her heavier fluffy bathrobe and slippers for her to put on, so she wouldn't get cold. She'd finally had to roll her eyes and laugh at him, setting him straight and insisting a bit heatedly that she hadn't become a complete invalid just because he'd knocked her up. He'd thrown his head back and laughed at that, apologizing with a kiss and a smile.

Of course, it had kind of ruined the moment when she'd suddenly spun and raced toward the bathroom, only barely making it in time before losing the remains of her previous night's dinner. Shaky and pale when she'd finally finished heaving, and leaning heavily on him as he'd led her over to the bed, she'd decided to just stay home and rest for the day. Which had led to their having a minor spat, when Alec had insisted that he'd stay home with her too so they could relax together and celebrate some more; that work could wait one flippin' day. She'd kyboshed that idea right away of course, reminding him of the tasks they'd left unfinished from the day before. In particular, the supply run that needed to be organized for urgently needed baby and medical supplies. So they'd finally agreed to compromise on calling Joshua over to stay with her while he put in a half day. Neither of them quite able to forget that it was Monday.

Sighing as she came full circle back to where she'd left off, she focused in on every detail she could recall, step by step. "Okay. So I remember Joshua arriving. And Alec gave me a quick goodbye kiss before he left, after promising to be back as soon as he could. Made me promise too that I'd stay safe and stay put."

Thinking further, she slowly murmured to herself, "And then I sat down with Josh and we talked for a while. About a few of the new paintings he's working on, and about Shelly, because he was thinking about asking her out and wanted some advice." She grinned, recalling the blush on his face when he'd admitted he really really liked her, but wasn't sure how to approach her.

"And I was so tired I was fighting back yawns and having to apologize every few minutes. The pressure and constant vigilance I'd been operating under slowly but surely combining with everything else to wear me right down. I was sure he was gonna be insulted, but he just smiled, patted me on the shoulder and told me not to worry. Said he could smell the hormones that meant I was breeding. And that it was natural for me to be tired with the way my body was working making the baby."

She felt her cheeks heating up as she remembered how shocked and flustered she'd gotten. She hadn't quite been comfortable with the idea of announcing their happy news just yet. It'd felt wrong somehow to be publicly celebrating what with the widespread panic that was gaining momentum amongst their female population. And with damned good reason. She shuddered with dread, not particularly wanting to linger on the reason why. It was too upsetting and had been haunting her for weeks now anyway.

Forcing herself to carry on, she continued her train of thought, "Alright, so we talked a while longer, after I made him promise to keep the news to himself, and then I started feeling hungry. But there wasn't a hell of a lot in the apartment, since I'd been postponing picking up our rations until Alec or Josh could come with me. And I knew I should eat while I could, before one of the random bouts of queasiness I'd been dealing with came back again to bite me in the ass. But when I tried to get up and get dressed, I got so dizzy and lightheaded that I didn't want to risk making the trek over to the mess."

"So Josh offered to go grab us something." She smiled, remembering how solicitous he'd been, telling her to lie down on the couch and rest. "I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to go out, cause I didn't think I'd be able to maintain the high mental alertness it would've required. And it'd only take Josh a minute anyway to go grab something and come back. But just to be safe, I had him double-check the locks on all the doors and windows before he left. And I made sure I locked the door behind him."

"Then I went to go lie back down and... and then..." She frowned as everything went black. For the life of her she couldn't remember anything else after that until she'd woken up on that beach. Putting a hand up and rubbing at the sudden headache developing between her eyes, she tried to concentrate and push past the pain. But nothing was coming to her.

"So what could have possibly happened that I wouldn't have seen coming? That could've happened so quickly? Was there maybe a bomb?"

Thinking about it a moment, she slowly shook her head. "Not likely. It wouldn't have been trouble from the Government, not with the peace treaty in place. And after the big blowout we had when we killed White and sent the few remaining Cult members packing with their tails between their legs, the Familiars aren't likely candidates either. They're too busy running and watching their own backs now that they've been exposed. And it's not as if any of our local hate-mongerers are smart enough or stealthy enough to have smuggled a bomb this far inside our perimeter. Not without being noticed."

Her brow twisting, she sighed, "Maybe there was a gas leak or an explosion of some kind?" But that seemed pretty farfetched too, and she knew it. They'd spent quite a bit of time checking over all of their residential buildings and repairing any safety hazards before allowing anybody to move into them. And there hadn't been any new construction in their area for a while so...

"What does that leave me with then? What other danger or hazard could have hurt me enough to send me here? What could possibly be bad enough to have trapped me in my own mind? To force me to maybe escape this way?" And as the ugly realization struck her, she felt her breath freeze in her lungs, her legs slowly giving way beneath her as she slid down the wall to the floor.

"Oh god no... Please no... Not that... Anything but that," she whispered despairingly as all the blood drained from her face.

She didn't want to face it, felt like throwing up at the mere idea of that sick bastard getting his slimy hands on her and imposing that kind of complete and utter control over her. She couldn't imagine anything more horrifying or terrifying than being raped and violated like that. But the more she considered it, the more likely the possibility seemed. It was the only thing she could think of that made any kind of sense in terms of her current state of limbo. Especially since it was Monday.

"And how bad is it really," she muttered shakily, "that I'd rather accept the thought of a massive explosion injuring God knows how many of our people, than deal with the prospect of being taken by that asshole." Dropping her head down onto her knees with a fraught moan and wrapping her arms tightly around them, she forced herself to confront her fear, letting the events of the past month flow over her.

It'd all started so quietly, so innocuously, that no one had even suspected what was happening at first. It'd been December 9th, just a typical wet and miserable wintery Monday, with quite a few people deciding to stay indoors to try and keep warm and avoid the partially frozen slush and snow clogging the streets...

Kaley, a feisty long-legged blonde X5 and chief of staff of their medical ward, had been the first to disappear. Her mate had noticed first, coming into HQ that afternoon and asking if anyone had seen her. They'd been supposed to meet for a late lunch after she finished dealing with a backlog of paperwork, but she hadn't shown up, and when he'd checked with the ward, none of them had seen her all day. They'd just assumed she'd decided to stay home what with the weather, since she hadn't really needed to come in.

After some gentle prodding, Rake had admitted that they'd had a bit of a blow out the night before, that he'd been jealous of some guys flirting with her lately, and that he'd proposed the lunch date idea to her as a last minute conciliatory gesture. So it was entirely possible she'd decided to blow him off and go somewhere private to stew and mull things over. And since it wasn't all that unusual for the more independently natured X5s to take off on their own every once in a while anyway, no one had been too overly concerned. At least not at first.

But when night had fallen with absolutely no sign of her, Max had sent out word to their sentries and security patrols to keep their eyes peeled for her, concern growing for her missing colleague and friend. And in the morning, she'd ordered a full-scale search of TC and their surrounding area, to no result. With nothing more to go on, no sign of foul play or any clue as to where she might have gone, they'd been forced to wait and leave it at that, monitoring the news for any hint of related information.

It'd been late Friday, almost early Saturday, before she'd finally been spotted by a sentry. Max had been about to go home with Alec after debriefing one of their supply crews, when she'd gotten word that she was needed over at medical right away. The positively grim faces that had greeted them had been disturbing to say the least, and after being told that Kaley'd been kidnapped, tortured and raped, and finally going in to see her herself, well, she'd understood why.

Alec had been waiting patiently for her when she'd emerged from the exam room with Retha almost two hours later looking extremely pale and visibly distraught, and she'd given him a terse "Let's go," before pulling him from the building. The horror of what she'd seen and heard, too much to deal with on her own, and certainly not in public. He'd followed her without protest no doubt sensing she was on the razor's edge of control, wrapping an arm protectively around her and just walking silently until they reached the sanctuary of their apartment.

Once inside though, he'd pulled her into his chest and simply held her as she began to shake and then sob; hot tears soaking through his t-shirt as she'd fisted her hands in it and pulled him even closer, needing the safety and comfort of his presence and his scent surrounding her. After she'd managed to calm down a bit, she'd haltingly begun to share the information he needed to know, with as much detail as she could bear to tell him, her voice strained as she clung to him for support.

He'd taken her to their bed then and just held her long into the night, listening to her and consoling her as best he could. Brushing away fresh tears when she'd confessed that Rake had apparently shown up when they'd first brought Kaley in and immediately snubbed her and walked away, unable or perhaps just unwilling to tolerate the undisputable proof of another man being with her even though it'd hadn't been by choice. It had absolutely devastated the already broken woman.

Of course, they hadn't realized at that point what they were actually dealing with yet. Had hoped and prayed that perhaps it was just some random one-shot deal, or maybe someone with an intensely personal grudge against Kaley. But no.

No, it hadn't been anything near as simple as that. It'd only been the beginning of something far more sinister and sadistic. Deliberate and vindictive acts of physical and emotional violence obviously meant to intimidate and punish their women, and spread fear throughout their growing and blossoming little community.

They'd begun to figure that out the following Monday when they'd shown up for breakfast at the mess and found it in a state of barely contained chaos as Jess, their fiery tempered little head cook, hadn't shown up for work and was nowhere to be found. Rumors and speculation about the red-haired X6's whereabouts starting to fly fast and furious among the anxious crowd. And when she'd returned in a similar state 5 days later… the whisperings and mutterings of true fear had begun.

Anna had become his third unfortunate victim; the buxom black-haired X5 beauty running their late night security detail with an iron fist, despite her otherwise soft heart. She hadn't made it home after her shift that fateful Sunday night and her mate, Kevin, had been beside himself with worry the entire time she was missing. So Max had dared to hope that he'd actually have the balls to stick by her, only to be sorely disappointed when Anna'd showed up outside the gates a few days after Christmas and he'd pulled the exact same shit as Rake had done. He'd muttered some crap about instincts and fucking infidelity before stalking off with a pissed off glare.

And then it had been Sara's turn to run the gauntlet. She'd only stepped out of their underground weapons cache for a moment to go to the bathroom and had promptly disappeared off the face of the planet. A strong and sassy brunette with an infectious giggle and a real affinity for weapons, she ran the Armory together with her mate Kris. Perfect complements for each other, the X5's seemed to feed off each other's company, constantly joking around and finishing off each other's sentences.

Kris'd gone off the deep end at her disappearance. Alec having to step in with two other men to forcibly restrain him and talk him down after he'd loaded up for bear, threatening to track down and kill the 'motherfuckin' son of a bitch' that'd taken her, even though he had no idea who it was or where to start. And upon Sara's return a few days ago, she'd been stunned and immensely relieved when he'd basically glued himself to her side, refusing point blank to leave her.

Max sighed and slowly lifted her head to stare blankly up at the ceiling, remembering how increasingly unsettled and afraid she'd become as the weeks had gone by. For she personally knew and worked fairly closely with each of the women, albeit to varying degrees depending on their area of expertise. Well on their way to becoming good friends, they often teased and joked with each other during committee meetings, and got together for the odd session of girl talk over coffee or drinks as well. But out of their unofficial circle of eight, only Dana, Brandy, and Greta remained untouched now.

And as their leader and the head woman in charge, she'd been the one that had had to debrief them all afterward. Had had to helplessly sit by and listen to them cry and sob as they'd struggled to describe the horrors done to them. And as their friend, she'd felt like an absolute failure trying to console them. For after the utter hell they'd been forced to endure, how on earth could she make anything better for them? What could she possibly say or do to make a difference?

And seeing them so torn apart, so fragile and so broken, when each of them had been so strong-willed, so vibrant and full of life? It had scared her to death. Because she'd known, even if she hadn't wanted to admit it, that she likely had a huge ass target painted on her own back. It was fairly obvious after all, from the victims he'd chosen so far, that the asswipe had a huge hard on for women in roles of authority. And who else had more authority around here than her?

So even with how independent and confident she normally was, she'd instinctively started sticking closer to Alec and Joshua, something they'd both noticed and openly encouraged. And she'd absolutely refused to go anywhere alone, or to ever be alone with any other man, unsure as to exactly whom she could trust. Not even the men on their executive committee were above suspicion, which was starting to wear heavily on them all. For it was hard to say who was behind the chilling series of rapes.

The bastard was taking extreme pains to disguise himself from his victims, always wearing a full head mask to cover his hair and shadow his eyes, and using some sort of synthesizer to alter his voice, while black leather gloves kept his hands protected and safely hidden away too. And he'd even gone so far as to constantly change the color of his pubic hair to avoid giving away his true hair color.

But clearly he was transgenic, either X5 or X6, simply due to his size and speed and the strength he exhibited. And obviously very clever too, as he'd been running circles around everyone trying to figure out who he was, seemingly with minimal effort. They'd pretty much ruled out the possibility of him being mated, as it seemed highly unlikely that he'd be able to fool someone that close to him, or that any woman would willingly go along with the heinous acts he was committing. But even if they excluded those, it still left them with nearly 100 single male suspects to weed through.

They had over a dozen people working strictly on finding him now: compiling lists of alibis, known hangouts, biographies and full histories, and tracking movements as much as possible during each of the disappearances. But it was painstakingly detailed work and slow going at best. And unless they caught some sort of a break, and soon, she was beginning to think they might not catch him at all. It was hard to say after all, exactly how many targets he had in mind, or whether he might stop or leave TC altogether, choosing to wreak havoc somewhere else instead.

Running a trembling hand back through her hair, Max closed her eyes as she reflected on one of the main things preying on her now. And that was Alec. What his reaction would be to this, if she had in fact been taken, she could only guess. But it wasn't likely to be good. In fact, the odds were stacked rather high that he'd abandon her too, since that's what had happened with two of the three couples so far. She wasn't sure yet exactly why Kris had stayed with Sara. Whether it'd been instinct related or just a matter of choice. Or perhaps their love or level of commitment had been stronger than most.

In any event, she couldn't stand the thought of losing Alec. Not now. Not after everything they'd been through together and how much she'd come to rely on his staunch unwavering presence beside her. He'd become her rock over the years, standing beside her through thick and thin. Fierce, devoted and loving. And if he didn't or couldn't stick by her through this? "God, I don't think I can face it on my own. Not this. Not if it's true," she murmured sadly, her eyes haunted.

"And what about the baby?" Sliding her legs out in front of her and looking back down at her abdomen, she barely held back tears as she realized she'd probably lose it too. The amount of damage sure to be done to her, quite likely enough to trigger a miscarriage. "What'll I have left then? If I lose Alec, and I lose the baby, what then?"

Present – 2025Jan11 – Approximately 01:30 am...

Retha placed a final strip of tape over the IV she'd decided to administer as a precaution, mainly due to her patient's pregnancy. With that securely in place, she reached over and grabbed the syringe and sedative she'd taken out earlier, beginning to draw a large dose.

"Don't suppose there's any chance you could just knock me out for a while?" 452 asked wistfully, then chewed at her lower lip self-consciously at the fear exposed in her voice. Her breath shuddering raggedly in her chest as she tried to control it and not aggravate her ribs.

"Not safely, no. At least not for the baby." Retha sighed and stroked her right arm gently in an attempt to soothe her, then injected about a quarter of the dose directly into the IV port along her bicep, wanting to get it working right away. "I really wish I could though. I can only imagine how agonizing this must be for you."

They'd had the distinct misfortune of spending a fair bit of time together over the past several weeks, as a direct result of their dealings with the other victims, and it had drawn them closer. Each relying on the other to help navigate through the emotional minefield they'd been thrust into. But Ma-452 was now firmly entrenched on the wrong side of the fence, making it a real struggle for Retha to hold her own emotions in check as she assessed her.

Now that some of the initial shock was wearing off, 452's behavior was starting to become more and more erratic, seesawing back and forth between her original trained soldier-style repression and full-on emotional train wreck. Broody and withdrawn one moment as she attempted to deny everything and shove it all aside, only to collapse and give way to an anxious and tearful mess as the harsh reality of her situation began to sink in and drag her down with it.

She was currently channeling the latter as her arm fairly trembled in Retha's hands. Her pulse fluttering madly in her throat in time with the rapid-fire beating of her heart, which was more than audible to both Retha's and Alec's enhanced hearing, given the worried look playing out across his features as he watched his mate's fretful movements. With that and the viability of the pregnancy weighing on her mind, she'd already prepped a bag of tryptophan and piggybacked it onto the saline drip. Because while the tremors were most likely being caused by nerves and stress, the last thing she needed was to suffer a seizure on top of everything else.

Standing up calmly and keeping her movements fluid as she leaned in over the bed, Retha checked and adjusted the flow of the bags hanging from a nail in the wall, then injected the rest of the sedative in to mix and gradually release with the saline. Mentally calculating its probable effectiveness given their metabolisms and the level of stress 452 was under; she decided to give her at least 15 minutes before even attempting to broach the internal exam again. Her voice low and soothing, she suggested, "Why don't you shut your eyes for a few minutes and try to relax, hmm? Give yourself and the baby a break. You're safe now, and we're all here looking out for you. Nothing bad's gonna happen if you tune out for a little while."

Seeming to consider the idea as she gazed around the room warily and then focused in on her mate hovering protectively beside her, 452 finally nodded slightly with another shuddering breath and slowly closed her left eye, her body still wired taut as a bowstring.

Eyeing her ashen features once more with a frown and estimating how much blood she'd probably lost over the past week, Retha glanced over at Alec and caught his eye, asking quietly, "How are you doing right now?"

"Alright." Puzzled and a bit annoyed by the question, since there were so many other much more pressing concerns on his mind, he asked a bit shortly, even as he matched her volume out of deference to his mate, "Why?"

"Just trying to determine if you're in good enough shape to transfuse her since she could more than likely use a pint or two. But frankly, you look like shit."

Cindy nodded in reluctant agreement, "Boy ain't slept or ate at all the past five days. Admitted it hisself earlier."

"Yeah I figured as much." Retha sighed as she laid the used syringe aside on the bedside table to dispose of later.

Already starting to push up his left sleeve, he frowned at them both and insisted just as quietly, "Just do it. I'm fine."

"Un huh. Sure you are." Retha arched an eyebrow at him, letting him know she wasn't buying it. "Who have you got on watch outside? Any women who could come in and give her a bit?"

"No!" 452 looked absolutely stricken as she interrupted, her gaze suddenly wide and pleading as she choked out, "Please? I... I really don't want anyone else to see me. Not right now. Not like this." She shook her head frantically and sniffled, tears swimming in her open eye.

Regretfully ruling out that option, Retha nodded and leaned down to rub her arm again, unwilling to push her when she was so transparently fragile. "Alright. Whatever you say. Just, try to calm down, okay?"

"I could do it..." Cindy started to offer, her eyes dark with her own concern.

Retha smiled at her, "Thanks, but unfortunately I have no way of making sure your blood is compatible. And I'm not willing to take that kind of risk since this isn't exactly an emergency situation. Plus - no offence - but she'd be much better off getting a boost of pure transgenic blood anyway, what with all the potent antibodies and such we've got going for us."

She turned her gaze back toward Alec, slowly shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the determined set to his jaw, "Fine. You win. There's a bottle of juice in the side pocket of my bag. If you promise to drink that down and eat something, I'll let you. But if you pass out, it's on your own head," she warned, pointing a finger at him.

Nodding before she'd even finished talking; he got up quickly and took off for the kitchen, coming back not even a minute later with a slightly overripe banana, a box of crackers, and one of the dining chairs to sit in.

Still shaking her head, she walked back around to the other side of the bed and dug out the bottle for him, then started setting them both up for the transfusion as he opened the crackers and juice and started munching obediently. She had to smile though when he peeled open the banana and offered it to his mate first, coaxing her into taking a few small bites and giving her sips of the juice as well.

Bending down and retrieving the ultrasound machine from its case on the floor once she was done, she placed it beside her on the bed. "Tell you what. Since you said you've probably got a few broken bones, how about I clean you up a bit and check on those first, make sure they're set properly while we give that sedative some more time to kick into gear?"

"Sounds good." 452 nodded gratefully at the small and oh-so-welcome reprieve. Beyond weary now and overwhelmed by the unrelenting pain and trauma of the past five days, she closed her eye again and tried to just breathe. Focusing on drawing air in and out of her lungs as evenly as she could, she soaked in her mate's scent and consciously attempted to relax for the baby's sake. Wanting and needing nothing more at this moment than for this to all be over with already.

And while she was peripherally aware of all the concerned glances being directed her way, she couldn't summon up enough energy or will to even attempt to dispel them anymore. For while she may have received all the training in the world as a kid to endure and never quit, to push through pretty much any pain or injury she might receive? Even transgenics had their limits and she was running on fumes now. It had taken damn near everything she had, all the enhanced stamina and almost every single shred of adrenaline and panic-fuelled energy, just to make it here to the relative safety of her old apartment after coming to in that dumpster, aching, naked and alone. Thrown away like so much garbage.

Retha rifled through her bag again and dug out some more supplies and two deep plastic trays. Turning to Cindy with a soft smile, she offered her one, "Could you please do me a favor and fill this up halfway with hot water, and maybe bring back a few towels too?"

Turning back to her patient and eyeing all the cuts, gouges, and raw abrasions enveloping her forearms, palms and fingertips, she quickly and efficiently set about cleaning those non-volatile areas first, irrigating them thoroughly and applying antiseptic and sterile dressings. Then she turned the ultrasound back on to check her upper body for fractures, finally announcing quietly, "You've actually only got 3 cracked ribs that I can see, at least in front. The others are probably just badly bruised. But you are right about your left wrist. You've got a clean break of your radius about 2 inches up that I'm going to have to splint. Luckily it hasn't started to set on its own yet, so I won't have to dislodge it to reduce it."

Not even bothering to open her eye, 452 gave a slow, barely discernible nod of her head in acknowledgement. Her breathing much steadier, almost meditational now with the edge eased off of her panic; a good indication that the sedative was beginning to work its magic.

Carefully maneuvering the bone in her forearm into the correct position and double-checking it with the ultrasound once more, Retha directed, "Cindy, can you help hold her arm in place for me while I get this stuff ready?"

When she leaned across her friend and gently took over, Retha opened up a prepackaged splint and set it in the tray of hot water to prepare it, soaking it and then squeezing it out in one of the towels to help remove all the excess water. Placing one end of the long strip of material up against the inside of 452's bandaged wrist and palm, she wound it all the way around the back of her elbow and along the outside length to the middle of the back of her hand, then started molding it to conform to the shape of her arm, stretching out the edges of the padded material over the fiberglass to help offer some protection as it gradually hardened. Reaching out and grabbing an elastic tensor bandage, she proceeded to wrap the arm all the way up from her palm to her elbow to immobilize it.

Glancing quickly at her watch and then at Alec, she reached over and closed the clamp to end the transfusion. When he started to protest, she waved him off authoritatively and removed the needle from his arm, pressing a small wad of cotton over the site and applying pressure. "No. You're starting to get pale and you've already given her enough to help tide her over until her system can rejuvenate itself." Giving him a significant look, she added a bit more quietly, "Plus I'm pretty sure she'll feel a hell of a lot more secure with you actually awake by her side rather than on the verge of passing out." When he nodded and lowered his head a bit sheepishly as he took over the pressure on his arm, she lifted the tube to allow the rest of the blood to flow into 452, then removed her needle as well.

Peeling the soiled gloves from her hands and tossing them into the nearby garbage can along with all the used packaging and supplies, she grabbed a clean pair and donned them. The loud snap of the latex swiftly regaining her patient's undivided and wary attention. Smiling gently in apology, Retha calmly met her strained gaze and asked solicitously, "So, would you prefer to have everyone else step out now to give us some privacy for your exam or do you think you'd feel more comfortable with them staying put?"

Flushing bright red as she thought about it and the hellish amount of damage done below her waist, 452 sighed miserably, weighing the mortification she would feel at having them see her like that against the relief and comfort of not being left to face this all alone. But it wasn't much of a contest with how vulnerable she was feeling. Swallowing hard as she realized that her mate likely already had a pretty good idea of the condition she was in anyway, the idea of having him stay really didn't seem like that big a deal. Especially since he was still standing by her of his own accord.

But Cindy on the other hand…

Turning her head toward her best friend, her expression sad and heavy with pain and humiliation, she tried to warn her, explaining tentatively, "I... It's… pretty nasty OC... I'm a real mess... down there. So I'm not sure if you wanna stick around... but I wouldn't mind… if you feel up to staying with me?"

Not even hesitating, she held her gaze and nodded reassuringly, reaching out to gently take her right hand. "Don't you worry. If you want Original Cindy wit'cha boo, then that's where I'ma gonna be. No doubt."

"How 'bout me?" Alec asked quietly after a moment, not wanting to presume too much and potentially alienate her.

"From..." 452's voice broke, and she had to clear her throat before continuing, "From what I understand... you've probably already seen..." Her voice trailed off and became decidedly bitter as she managed to choke out, "He told me he was sending you my 'greatest hits'..."

Glancing over at him and seeing the certain grim knowledge in his expression, dashing one of her few remaining hopes, she closed her eye, her face falling as a fresh wave of shame and humiliation crashed over her. A few tears leaking out to trickle helplessly down her burning cheeks as she tried unsuccessfully to bite back the sob rising in her throat to accompany them; feeling so unspeakably raw and out of her element, that she had absolutely no idea how to even begin to handle any of it anymore.

"Hey, shhh," Alec said gently as he carefully brushed her tears away, his heart turning over in his chest at her obvious distress. "You have nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart. You didn't ask for what happened to you. This is all on him and has absolutely no reflection on you. None of this is your fault."

Unable to deal, the genuine compassion and tenderness in his voice only making it worse and threatening to tear her completely apart, she pulled back inside herself as much as she possibly could, trying desperately to make herself go numb again. Wishing more than anything that she could somehow make it all go away and just forget, even if only for a little while. Just long enough to maybe give her a chance to try and piece herself back together again. But without a tangible or credible threat to fend against, she couldn't quite seem to manage anymore. The sedative unfortunately serving to lower her natural defences as well.

Sighing as she remained fairly closed off and unresponsive despite her continued tears, Alec explained sadly, "And I can see that you're really upset that I looked at that shit, and I am so sorry I invaded your privacy like that, but I couldn't help myself. I needed to see that you were still alive. Not knowing how you were was killing me. And I was desperate to try and find some sort of clue, anything that might help me identify him or where he was holding you."

He watched apprehensively as she took a couple of shaky breaths and then nodded tightly, whether in agreement with his reasoning or simply a desire to get this horrendous ordeal over with he couldn't tell, but she finally opened her eye and looked over at Retha. "You can go ahead. We're good here."

Continued on my Live Journal (see profile)...