Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Rated: NC-17
Disclaimer: All characters within this fiction are the property of Cameron/ Eglee. I just like to play with them.
Timeline: Six weeks after FN.
Pairing M/A
Summary: An unexpected accident causes Max to think about the future in a new way.
Chapter Seven
The Freedom of Truth
"What do you mean you don’t remember?" Joshua asked, massive confusion tingeing his voice. Max could hear the tremble of fear behind those words. He’d spent so many years in the basement of Manticrore. He probably tried to forget many things that had come and gone over the years, trapped in that place, but it was obvious that he hadn’t. She turned back to comfort him, but he was already speaking again. "Max remembers Joshua."
It was a statement of fact and Max couldn’t help the small smile as she tried to reassure him. "Of course I haven’t forgotten you Joshua," she said softly. She took a swift glance around his apartment; her earlier anger at feeling patronized had disappeared as quickly as it had come. "It’s just… things have changed."
"Everything changes," he announced as if she, instead of losing memory, had instead lost brain cells. It was a unique feeling, having Joshua speak to her as if she were a child.
"Yeah, I know that," Max agreed. She moved to the couch in the center of the room and gingerly took a seat. Joshua remained where he was, watching her, trying to get a feel for where she was leading him. "But most people are aware of when things are changing. It’s like, I woke up this morning and it was like I was suddenly dumped in this completely unfamiliar life."
Joshua tilted his head again and took an obvious whiff of the air around them. "But still the same Max. That hasn’t changed. You are still you." Max chuckled.
"That’s good to know," she asserted, then let out a heavy sigh. She could see that she was going to have to lay it all out for him before Joshua would understand what seemingly tragedy had befallen her. ‘Oh yeah, like waking up in Alec’s arms is such a tragedy,’ her brain mocked her. And truthfully, how bad was this new life she’d stepped into? She was married to a gorgeous, funny, caring man who treated her like a spoiled little princess. Joshua, while hurt, was alive and still the insightful, loyal friend he’d been before. Sure there were new faces that she didn’t recognize, but she hardly knew everyone in TC before. And apparently something had happened to her that had scared Alec badly enough to be overly solicitous for a little headache, probably brought on by her confusion. She thought for another moment before realizing belatedly that she hadn’t factored in her other friends. What of Original Cindy and Sketch? Were they still a part of her life? She bit her lip as another person crossed her mind. Logan?
She glanced up, thinking that maybe Joshua was the best person to ask. But he’d been doing his own thinking as well and had come to some sort of conclusion. He moved forward, taking a seat beside her. "What’s the last thing Max remembers?" he asked gently. Max inhaled sharply. She hadn’t even thought that far back herself. Her eyes drifted shut as she tried to order her chaotic thoughts into something she could deal with. Slowly it came to her, the feelings first. She had been irritated and wet. She wasn’t happy about something. What had it been? Her eyes popped open as she recalled Logan’s pleading call to come visit him and cast her mind back to that instant. She mentally counted off on her fingers. It had been about five or six weeks after the initial siege.
"The last thing I clearly remember is heading over to Logan’s," she spoke slowly, still trying to make sure that she was accurate. "He wanted me to come over, so I took one of the bikes and left TC." Her brow furrowed as she tried to follow her actions then through to the next point, but she couldn’t. "I don’t remember anything after that." Joshua nodded.
"Joshua knows," he asserted again. "Joshua remembers. It was bad."
Max glanced up; her heart skipping a beat as a sharp sliver of fear shuddered its way through her. She wondered if she was ready to hear any of this. But she needed to know. She had to know what had happened to he that had so drastically changed the life she had known. While it might not have been the best life, it was comfortable and familiar. This one was so infinitely stranger that she constantly felt like she was on pins and needles, not knowing what surprise would jump up and bite her on the ass. "Tell me," she finally demanded, trying to ignore the pleading in her tone.
"Hmm," Joshua sighed audibly. "Before Max gets to Logan’s, hit by a car. But Alec was there. He helped. Called the doctor."
"Was I hurt badly?" she swallowed, sick at the thought that this had happened and even now, hearing the words, there was no resonance of recognition about the event. Joshua nodded in answer to her question.
"Doctor say Max in a sort of coma," he continued. "Was scared Max wouldn’t wake up, but she did. Alec say Max confused, but okay."
"You’re sure?" Max asked in puzzlement. Could that have been the connection between her headache now, the memory loss and Alec’s reaction? Somehow it just didn’t seem enough. "Okay, so that happened, but I was okay. That still doesn’t really explain why I’ve lost the last six months of my life." She was staring hard at the floor before her and didn’t see Joshua start in surprise at her words. A knock sounding on his door interrupted what either one of them were about to say. Joshua stared at her for a moment, clearly debating the wisdom of answering his door and putting off this conversation or ignoring it and hoping it would all go away. Max smirked and nodded to the door. She could wait another few moments.
"Come in!" Joshua called. The door swung open, having not been locked and Max’s features lit up as a very familiar woman stepped in, her arms loaded down with bowls.
"Hey Joshua," Gem called back as she kept the door from hitting the wall with her foot. "Max."
"Hey Gem," Max replied with relief. At least she wouldn’t have to keep up a pretense, or at least much of one around this person. "Where’s Angie?" It was rare to see Gem without her darling little daughter in her arms. Max bit her lip suddenly, realizing that Gem wasn’t such a new mother anymore, prone to keeping her daughter with her at all moments like she initially had.
"Right behind me," Gem chuckled. She glanced over her shoulder and made encouraging noises in her throat. She turned back to Joshua, lifting the bowls with a wry look on her face. "I thought you might like a little home cooking on your first day home. Angie tried to ‘help’. She’s carrying the bread."
"Ha," Joshua gave a nervous bark of laughter as he glanced nervously at Max. And he was right to be concerned. Max’s face had gone completely slack as she took in the small child toddling on fairly steady legs after Gem. And even though it seemed to be some months since Max had last seen her, there was no accounting for the amount of growth since then. Max watched dumbly as the little girl, so very evident in her features that she was in fact Gem’s daughter, tumbled into the room, running straight to her friend.
"Josh-wa!" she cried out as the man held open his arms to her. He swept her up as Gem shut the door and carried her own offering to the kitchen counter. "I hepped Mama make bread Josh-wa," she informed him happily.
"I see," Joshua chuckled, looking at the offering all bound up in plastic wrap. Angie had decorated it with glitter. He glanced at Max, glad to see that she’d finally closed her gaping mouth. "Angie makes good bread."
Max cleared her throat as the little girl smiled up at her expectantly, looking for more compliments. "I- uh, I see that." Angie was satisfied and began unwrapping the bread as Joshua tried to keep her from getting the glitter on the bread. She broke a piece off and shoved it into the laughing mouth of the gentle giant. She grinned happily as he tried to fit the large chunk in his mouth without choking. Almost as an afterthought, she broke off a much smaller piece and held it out to Max. She took it hesitantly, as if getting closer to the little girl would make things that much more real.
"Good sharing sweetie," Gem called, having watched the moment unfold. Angie beamed at her mother.
"Thank you," Max whispered, holding the bread in the palm of her hand. She glanced back and forth between the three other people before finally popping it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing as best she could. The bread had to pass a very large lump of fear that had lodged itself in her throat.
"It’s nummy?" Angie asked. Max swallowed again and nodded, her head dropping as the little girl went back to ignoring her in favor of trying to feed Joshua more. He hadn’t missed the interplay and emotion on Max’s face and apparently neither had Gem.
"You know what," Gem decided suddenly. "We just stopped by to drop this off. I have to get back to the bakery. Come on baby. We’ll let Max and Joshua be and come back later, okay?" The little girl protested a little, but with the promise that she could bake Joshua some cookies, she finally relented. They said goodbye and Gem scooped her daughter up to hurry them away.
Max waited until the door had shut and the footsteps had receded down the hallway before looking up at her friend. His face was a wellspring of concern. It was amazing how he looked exactly like Alec had earlier that morning. She couldn’t help herself; the tears began to run down her cheeks before she even realized the moisture had formed in her eyes.
"How long Joshua?" she asked her voice tiny, defeated. The large man swept up the remains of the loaf of bread and settled it on the coffee table before him. He opened his arms, much as he had done for Angie and Max fell forward into him. He cradled her gently and let her sob, gently stroking her hair, trying as best he knew how to calm her. Finally, a little more steady, Max wiped the tears away and pulled back from him. "How long?" she repeated.
"Angie is, "he paused, "eighteen months old now. Very smart. Strong."
"Oh my God," Max breathed. She had lost nearly seventeen months of her life. It was near inconceivable. A few months she had been willing to accept. But this, it was too much. She bit her lip, trying to force down a resurgence of tears. She was strong, she could do this. "Tell me, please."
Joshua nodded and picked up the tale where he had led off. "After Max’s accident, things were bad. People running and screaming. Cops holding us in. We had no food, no water, guns we shouldn’t use. Familiars making things worse. Logan tried to help. But people mad at him too. But not everyone mad."
"What did we do to change that?" she whispered, because obviously something momentous had happened.
"That summer, people who knew us before, friends came forward. Told others not to hate us. Big mess. Tried to help us. Some arrested, some helped. Arranged for us to get food. Bribed some cops. We could get out, friends could get in. Alec and Max and others stole things we needed. Sometimes people gave them to us."
"Okay," Max translated his shortened sentences into a comprehensible scenario. "So we did have some supporters?" He nodded. "Did they start to change public opinion?" He nodded happily.
"Rita came," he grunted. Max’s brows drew together as she tried to recall who Rita had been and was relieved to feel the recognition at the name. She had been the art gallery owner that had been buying Joshua’s artwork. "Told people that my paintings were my paintings. People wanted more. Rita said the artist intrigued them. She said it was a matter of prestige to own something created by something so hated."
"People really said that to her?" Max demanded hotly. It seemed that no matter what her situation; her instincts to protect her friends were intact.
"It’s okay Max," Joshua soothed with a rueful smile. To him, it was a long time ago. Max’s lips twitched as she realized this too. She nodded at him, indicating for him to go on. "Gave Rita a bunch of paintings. She sold them. But they wanted more. Others started sending their art with me. Rita loved it all. Asked if we could have an artist’s community. Soon, we had money."
"Well that’s good," Max grinned She’d never forgotten her lessons learned in the cruel way of a cash oriented world. "But how did that change things?"
"With more money, not need to steal as much," Joshua shrugged. "And people talking more and more about us. Becoming famous for something other than being made in a lab."
"So it helped sway public opinion even more?" she asked, not needing his confirmation. "But what about White and the Familiars?"
"People being nice about us made them mad," he told her flatly. "They tried to get in and hurt us, but too many cops around. Cops said as long as we were peaceful, no need to go in. Familiars couldn’t hurt the cops without making trouble for themselves. So then they tried to hurt others, making it look like it was transgenics. But Logan always found out the truth. Soon people suspicious of White, not us." Max nodded. That was good. It was extremely good. "But made White mad. Got Logan. Made Max make a deal. Max for Logan."
"And of course I agreed," Max groaned. She didn’t need her memory for this. It was just how she was. But Joshua nodded anyway.
"Alec, Mole, me, everyone argued. Find another way. But you wouldn’t listen," Joshua continued. "You went. But Alec followed. White let Logan go and took you. Alec couldn’t get to you quick enough. But he followed. The next day, you got out. Don’t know what happened to you then."
"I never told anyone?" Max asked softly, not sure she wanted to hear about her own torture.
"Couldn’t," Joshua muttered. He glanced back up at his friend. "Too sick already. White made you sick. Alec was angry. Wanted to kill White, but had to get you home."
"How was I sick?" she demanded. Here they had finally come to what Alec had been reacting to. "What did White do to me?"
"Gave you many things," Joshua tried to explain. "Viruses, bacteria. Doctors took blood sample to figure it out. Couldn’t find anything that would make you sick. Doctors thought it was the combination. Alec hoped there was a cure. He went after White. But there was no cure. Alec came back, hurt, almost dead himself. Cried. Thought you were dying."
"Was I dying?" Max asked hesitantly, the words sticking in her throat. Joshua glanced away, wondering if he should gloss over this. The mix of illnesses and their effect on her had baffled the doctors but she had pulled through and they had eventually figured it out. Finally, he nodded. Max let out the breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. "Oh my God. No wonder he was so worried this morning." And then she took note of what else he’d said. "Alec was hurt?"
"Fought with White, almost killed him then."
"But why didn’t he?" This confounded her. The majority of the transgenics never understood her position on not killing humans. At that point, it didn’t seem as if Ames White was human to the public anymore. Why would Alec hesitate? Was it in hopes to eventually get a cure?
"Because you always said no," Joshua replied simply. "Alec knocked White out, came home. Doctors were scared he would die to, wanted to fix him, but he said no. He said…. he said…"
"That if I died, he didn’t want to be on this earth without me," Max whispered, her voice nearly reverent as the words, so simple, so sweet rolled through her mind. She could hear Alec’s haunted voice, cracked with emotion and pain as the words spilled from his mouth. It was such a vivid memory that Max nearly shouted with pleasure that she had remembered. But agony was hers again as the memory faded back into the oblivion. But it gave her hope. If she could remember that one thing, on top of the other urges and feelings about this missing time as she had today, maybe she had a chance of getting it all back. She shook herself. "What happened then?"
"Alec needed help, so doctors sedated him and helped fix him," Joshua recalled, feeling a little better now that the sadness on his friend’s face had been replaced with a look of determination. This was the Max he knew and loved. "Max started getting better. It was the Familiar blood from snake that was making you sick. But you survived. Doctors told you Alec was sick. You went to him and he woke up."
"So he was okay?" Max asked inanely. Obviously he had been. He’d been standing beside her this morning, healthy and happy. Josh smiled. "Then what?"
"Max and Alec better. In love. Got married," he said it so simply, as if it had always been a foregone conclusion and Max smiled. "Transgenics all better too. Decided that art was doing well. Make other business. Now," he was beaming as he made his announcement, "we members of community. Have art community, bakery, computer company. Keep all our business in Seattle. Help other communities. People liking us because we support other businesses. Even help police."
"We do?" Max chuckled. She stared at Joshua, amazed at how much everything had changed and for the better. There had been some massive bumps in the road, but it seemed all had turned out well. She could breath easily now, knowing this. It didn’t make it easier that she couldn’t remember. But at least things weren’t as awful as she had feared.
"Max?" Joshua nudged at her, bringing her out of her reverie.
"What?"
"You gonna tell Alec?"
Chapter Eight
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