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 Twelve
The Pretense Of Protection
Max felt if anything, worse after she’d called Doc to set up an appointment. Not only was she lying to Alec, she was involving Doc and by extension Joshua. She had asked him to keep quiet about telling anything to Alec. And she could see instantly the strain it had created between her two favorite males. Of course, she didn’t worry much about Doc. He was the canny sort who seemed to let things roll off his back, took things in stride. She was pretty sure that he’d have no problem playing along, especially if it helped put Alec’s mind at rest. No all she had left to do was inform her husband of the appointment. And hope to hell that he didn’t freak out.
To that end, she returned to their apartment and actually set out making dinner. It crossed her mind that this action in and of itself was enough to give Alec pause. But that was just a sacrifice she’d make in the grander scheme of things. As she worked, she wondered how to approach this dilemma. Should she just shrug off the appointment, or should she just be honest. ‘Well, you could lie,’ her brain taunted her. ‘What’s one more when all is said and done. If Alec finds out, he’s gonna be hurt. And pissed. And a lot of other things.’
But what other reason could she use that wouldn’t worry him? It had to be the semi-truth, especially if she wanted to use her sincerity to convince him. So it wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t pure venomous lies either. She was so lost in her thoughts that she never heard the door bang open. Her first clue was when his strong arms slipped around her waist and he nuzzled at the side of her cheek.
"Oh!" she gasped at the suddenness of his being there. He chuckled and peered over her shoulder.
"Mm," he murmured, "what’s for dinner?"
"Stir fry," she answered as she set the chopping knife down and turned in his arms. She wrapped her arms loosely about his neck. She tilted her chin up and he obligingly gave her a peck on the lips, but pulled back immediately. He stared down at her, amusement in his eyes.
"All right," he grinned. "Who are you and what did you do with my Maxie?" With an inelegant snort, she shoved him gently in the chest.
"Cut it out," she grumped and turned back to finish the vegetables.
"Sorry," he apologized, but the word was definitely hollow sounding. "It’s just, you’re actually making dinner. And early at that." He approached again, stilling her hand. He wrapped his free hand around her waist and waited half a second. "That leaves me to wonder… what did you do?" He drew out the words, tauntingly.
"I didn’t do…" she began irritably, but stopped as she realized this was a good opening for her. She sighed heavily. Better to get this out of the way now. Otherwise she’d worry herself to death over it. And she could feel the sudden tenseness radiating from her husband. She pulled her hand free and set the knife down. She turned to face him, her hip resting against the counter.
"Max?"
"I- I needed a break this afternoon," she confessed haltingly, unable to meet his gaze. "So I thought I’d go see Joshua." She stopped, unsure how to tell him what she suspected he’d already figured out.
"You heard us, didn’t you?" the words were accusing, but the tone was anything but. He ran a hand through his hair, scratching at the back of his neck. His hand dropped and reached for hers. "God, I’m sorry Maxie."
"No," she squeezed his hand. "It’s okay. You’re worried about me. I get it." She pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his waist, as he had done to her earlier. "But there’s nothing wrong with me Alec."
He sighed heavily and tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to rein in the rampant imaginings of his mind, all screaming that there was something wrong. He seemed to push them back, make them recede for a moment. "I know that Max. I know it with my head, but-!"
"Your heart doesn’t agree?" she questioned. He nodded slowly. She nuzzled into his chest. It amazed her, to realize that in the past, none of the males in her life had ever worried like this. Sure, Eric had been worried about her life, couldn’t handle it and had broken up with her as soon as possible. Logan had worried but not to this extent, figuring that an X-5 could pretty much handle herself. The flip side of the coin was this kind of fear for her could get really old, really quick. But for now, she reveled in the strength of the arms that held her, symbolizing the strength of the love they bore for each other. Finally, she felt the need to complete this little plan. "I kind of figured that’s the way you felt." She murmured. His chest rumbled as he laughed.
"Well, I won’t apologize for it."
"I don’t expect you to," she said easily. "I think I’d be the same way."
"Yeah," he agreed with a grin, "except you’d be kicking my ass all the way to the shrink’s office. Is that what I need to do with you?" He meant it to be teasing, but her sudden stilling didn’t go unnoticed. "Max?"
"Um," she bit her lip, wincing a little. "I made an appointment to see Doc in the morning." She felt his arms go slack in surprise. "Alec?"
"You did what?" he demanded, the surprise tingeing his voice. "I thought you said nothing was wrong?" Max almost laughed as the thought of this little twist nearly had his head spinning 360 degrees and exploding. But she got herself under control to try and calm him down.
"Nothing is wrong," she stressed. "But I figured if you were that upset, then maybe Doc should have a look."
"Really?" he drawled in disbelief.
"Really," she affirmed.
"So when’s the appointment?" he asked suspiciously. Obviously he was wondering what angel his wife was trying to play, knowing of her deep hatred of hospitals.
"Tomorrow morning at nine," she replied off-handedly, turning back to the vegetables.
"You’re serious?" he scoffed. She nodded.
"Did you think I wasn’t?" she smiled. He shook his head, slightly dazed. "Don’t worry," she tried to assure him. "Doc will do his little tests, tell us it’s stress and everything will be fine."
"Stress?" he asked skeptically.
"Uh huh," she grunted. "Come on Alec, I’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind, things to do and not a lot of time to get it done in."
"That’s true," he finally conceded, but his face was still pensive. "But what if it’s something else?"
"What else could it be?" she asked, holding her breath slightly. "I mean, if there is something else, we’ll deal. But I really don’t think there is." She looked at him, holding his gaze, willing herself not to break under the penetrating, loving stare. He held her eyes, deliberating, assessing and finally he leaned forward.
"Okay," he finally gave in. He nuzzled into her neck and whispered again, "okay. Thank you Maxie."
*****
Max sighed in satisfaction as she burrowed deeper into the heated water. Alec had offered to clean up after dinner, sending her to relax. Sadly grateful for the chance to get away from him for a moment at least, Max had run a bath for herself. She’d clipped her hair up, intending just to soak for a while. After twenty minutes however, she realized that as much as she enjoyed her baths, she had a better way to relax. And just as she thought of it, a soft tapping came at the door.
"Come on in Alec," she called, stifling a giggle. Was he a mind reader? He entered the bathroom and Max’s mouth went dry when she realized that he’d doffed his shoes, socks and shirt before entering. He perched himself at the edge of the tub and drifted a lazy finger through the still water.
"Got room for one more?" he asked huskily, his eyes slightly glazed. Max gulped audibly.
"I’ll make room," she whispered, scooting back a little and letting her knees fall apart.
"I was hoping you’d say that," he grinned suddenly. Max watched with intensity as he stood and slipped his pants and boxers off. He stepped in carefully, between her legs, and settled down into both the warmth of the water and her embrace. Max lifted her arms, letting the water drip up over his chest. Her hands settled on his chest and she let the moisture guide her, rubbing it into his skin. He tilted his head back to nestle in the hollow of her shoulder. She drew her lips over his temple; letting short puffs of air disturb the locks of hair tickling her nose.
"Alec," she whispered into his ear.
"Shh, Maxie," he murmured, rubbing one hand along the outside of her calf. "No words." Max complied, knowing they didn’t need the words at this moment. Their bodies had their own language. So Max continued running her hands over his chest, kneading his shoulders, crossing her arms and holding him to her. Alec busied himself running his hands over the available flesh of her lower body. It didn’t take long for Max to rub herself tantalizingly against his back, glorying in the softness of his golden skin.
Alec pulled away; water sloshing over the edges at his movement, but it mattered to neither of them. He turned over, his eyes-half closed as he took her in. Max smiled wantonly as she lifted one leg to drape over the edge of the tub. Alec growled playfully and swept forward, catching her lips in a bruising kiss. Playtime was over. Max welcomed him in, just as eager as he was.
*****
The next morning, Max awoke, uncharacteristically nervous. It was time to pull it all together. She glanced at the clock next to the bed. It was just past seven. That meant she had a little while until it was time to see Doc. Of course, she’d have to get there a little early to talk to Doc before Alec got there. That meant she needed to get away from her husband by at least 8:30. She quickly ran through her mind what she could do to distract him. ‘There’s always sex,’ she giggled to herself. But they tended to cuddle more than they normally had after that particular act. So that was out, even though she wouldn’t have minded, was in fact eager for their next go around.
‘Well, if sex is out, what’s the next best thing?’ she wondered. ‘What else does Alec like?’ She racked her brain over their past relationship. It seemed every time she’d seen him away from business related crap; it was always hanging out at Crash. Or draped in front of the boob tube. And since distracting him by scantily clad blondes who were too inebriated for their own good was so definitely out of the picture, the television it would have to be.
It was ridiculously easy in hindsight. Max simply rose from the bed and switched on the television on her way to the bathroom. When she returned, she turned up the volume on the re-running cartoons and Alec appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, sleepy-eyed, hair tousled, looking mildly amused. Max settled on the couch and Alec joined her.
"What’s with the cartoons?" he asked curiously. Usually it was he that commanded the remote control. She simply shrugged and then laughed at the antics of the wily wolf. Or was it a coyote. Didn’t really matter to her. Alec had shrugged it off as well. And by the time 8:30 rolled around, they were both absorbed in the programming. Or at least Max appeared to be. She’d been growing more breathless as the minutes counted down. Finally, at a commercial break, she turned to her husband and easily convinced him that doughnuts would be a most excellent breakfast. He promised that he’d be to the bakery and back in a few minutes, with time to spare to walk her to the infirmary.
The moment he slipped out the door, Max yanked her clothes on and hotfooted it to the infirmary. Doc met her there, slight surprise in his eyes. Most likely from the fact that she not only showed up, she did so at the appointed time. Not late as was her normal approach to all things establishment. He looked her over and gestured her into his office.
"So what’s got you ready to pop?" he asked with a trace of humor. Max perched on the edge of her seat and took a moment.
"Well see Doc, it’s like this…"
Chapter Thirteen
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