Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Rated: up to NC-17
Disclaimer: All characters within this fiction are the property of Cameron/ Eglee. I just like to play with them.
Timeline: Sequel to Dream Within. Fiction starts about six weeks after FN.
Pairing M/A
Summary: Dreams don’t often come true for Manticore-bred soldiers. So when the chance comes along for Alec, he’s not quite sure how to take it.
Chapter Two
Alive And Well
“Here ya go Alec,” one of the perimeter guards smiled as he pulled forth an old, rickety wooden ladder. Alec had no idea where he’d come up with the piece of junk. But his mind didn’t have to wander too far. There were all sorts of bits and pieces left lying around Terminal City that the new inhabitants thought might come in handy. Alec would have preferred a nice, solid, new aluminum ladder. But Max wanted out of the sewer with a vengeance. And after smelling the mixture of crud-like aromas emanating from his jeans, he really didn’t blame her.
“Thanks Mack,” he nodded, taking the ladder from one of the two sentry guards on post at this sector of their home. Carefully they lowered the weather swollen wooden implement into the hole. Alec could see that Max had backed up a little bit to allow them room to maneuver the wieldy ladder into position for her. Alec was grateful that when he’d made the request that Mack and Graham hadn’t asked questions. Unfortunately, if you looked at it from certain quarters, they’d just blithely followed orders. But he shut down that errant thought for the moment. Time enough to think on it later. They had a damsel in distress to rescue.
A grin lit his face, thinking how Max would respond to that. Well, at least the old Max. She’d hit him, verbally castigate him and then hit him again for good measure. The new Max, well, there was no telling how she would handle his attitude. And he wasn’t quite sure that he wanted to test that out. Mack and Graham held the ladder steady as Alec glanced around the area, looking out for any bystanders who definitely did not need to discover this bolt hole into Terminal City.
“Thanks guys,” Max muttered as she ascended the last few steps. Alec turned back to see her taking Graham’s hand as she found footing on solid ground. But she let him go just as swiftly and Alec found himself watching her as she straightened her clothes to the best of her ability. 'Just to make sure she’s not dizzy or anything,’ he assured himself. But as his eyes followed the trail her hand made in soothing down her long, slightly tangled hair, he had to forcibly shake himself out the state he was finding himself in. Not quite catatonic, more like Max-atonic. He smirked slightly as that registered. Whatever state it was, he really couldn’t afford to let himself be in it too awful much.
“So have you guys perfected your scenario for incoming wounded?” Max asked of the two soldiers. Mack and Graham were both nodding. It was something that had been addressed weeks ago. And finally, after many ideas were thrown out, each member of the security team were given the clearance to deal with each incoming on a case by case basis. The only determination after transgenics and transhumans made it to Terminal City after the siege started, was to ensure a debriefing with the command center. Even if the trannies knew each other from before, that was no guarantee that the person coming in was the correct one.
Alec tuned out their explanations to Max, seeing how he had helped a good majority of the Sec. Teams come up with their plans and had laid in supplies as each needed. “Sorry guys,” he interrupted. “We need to get going. Max, you can interrogate them later.” He winced inwardly as he said it, certainly not meaning to sound so short tempered. But she let it slide with a small nod.
“Thanks again Mack,” she grinned and then turned to his partner. “You too Graham.” Alec was stunned for more reason than one. First of all, he wasn’t sure when Max had met either of the transgenics, let alone know their names. But that was explainable. She had access to all the security information. And she might have heard he himself use Mack’s name when he came up top. But not all the transgenics were listed by the names they had given themselves. Some, like Graham, were still designation only while they tried on appellations until they found one they were comfortable with Graham as one such as that.
Secondly, since when did the approval of a rogue ‘09er become so important to those that had been left behind. Alec stared, almost incredulous as both men gleamed under Max’s attention. A surge of jealousy began to roil in his stomach, until Alec forced himself to look away. It was attention such as he’d always wanted for himself from her. Just a moment where there was no rancor, just friendly give and take. But as his eyes focused on the only woman present at the moment, he realized too that Max was lost in thought. And the other men had lost the little attention she’d paid them. That seemed a little more normal.
“So we’ll stop by command,” Max began to say as they walked towards the internal part of the community.
“Uh no,” Alec shook his head. “I don’t think so. Doctor Carr said you needed to rest. So that’s what you’re going to do,” Alec decided.
“Yeah,” Max agreed quickly. “That’s fine. But after I go to command.”
Alec sighed. He could see that she was after something, although what he had no idea. But after the scare she had given him, all of them, he was bound and determined to follow Doctor’s orders. Even as the rational part of his mind assured him that he wasn’t the only one to always be getting into scrapes and that it was no guarantee that he’d keep her safe always. He could pretend, at least for a little while.
“It’s not a big deal Alec,” she continued softly. “I swear, I just need to stop by command, check on one or two minor things and then I will hightail it right to my apartment and put my butt in bed.”
“You promise?” Alec queried with another sigh. He figured that it would be simple enough to watch her for signs of fatigue. At the first hint that she was lagging, well, lagging more than she already was, he’d find some excuse to whisk her off to bed. He immediately felt the slight blush creep up as his cheeks as he mentally chastised himself. No, he would escort her to her domicile and ensure that she engaged in the rest she needed. There, that sounded much more professional.
As they walked, Alec kept a running internal monologue of things that needed attention in the immediate future so as not to continue thinking about the unbidden images of Max lounging across his bed. Or her bed. Or any damn soft, flat surface that he could think of. The only trouble was that those blasted geniuses at Manticore had certainly seen to it that the X series was certainly capable of multi-tasking.
But soon enough they had arrived at their headquarters. And only then did Alec realize that he had been uncharacteristically silent during the whole quick trip. He drew his eyebrows together once he realized that and caught on to the fact that Max was giving him another one of those mysteriously feminine assessing gazes. His mind whirled desperately as he strove to come up with some inane quip to throw her off the scent. But he knew he was caught when she grinned suddenly and tossed her hair over her shoulder.
“Finished with the daydreaming?” she asked bemusedly as she pulled open the slightly heavy steel door that led into the building.
“What makes you think I was daydreaming?” he demanded, slightly cross at how slow his mental reaction time to her seemed to be getting. She was one, or more steps ahead of him this whole jaunt back to Terminal City and it was one of the most uncomfortable sensations, asides from Psy-ops that he’d ever endured.
Of course, all she gave him for a hint was that enigmatic smile and the slight drop of her eyes downwards. Alec froze as her eyes came quickly back up to meet his and her smile grew wider. “The body never lies Alec,” she chuckled and then ducked away from him. Reflexively, he glanced down, horrified at what he might possibly see. But to his relief and puzzlement, everything was normal. Of course he would have noticed that sense of discomfort. He knew it well enough the past few months after his head was full of thoughts of her. But this time he hadn’t, which meant his body hadn’t, but she’d made him think it had.
“Bitch!” His mouth snapped shut on the word, wincing as he knew that her transgenic hearing would have picked it up. He certainly hadn’t been quiet in saying it.
“Your eyes were unfocused, your shoulders tense and you were shuffling your feet!” she called back to him. “Plus you were way too quiet, even for serious transgenic thought.” There was a small pause. “And I heard that! Brat!”
Despite his nanosecond of ire with her, Alec was ridiculously pleased. Since when did Max ever pay enough attention to him to be able to catalogue the physical symptoms of a state he was so very rarely in? With his mood again on the upward swing of things, he chased after her, catching up as she entered the nexus of their daily lives.
“Hey Mole!” he heard her call out as she wove her way through the area. She was nodding to various people, once again puzzling him as she seemed to know everyone. “Lexan, how’s it going?”
And like a ship breaking the waves, people made way for her, only to stare after her disconsolately as she moved past them with small hints of the sudden change in her attitude rippling amongst them. Alec watched her, scrutinizing what it was that was so different this time than every other time she had walked into this building.
Well there was one major clue in what he’d just asked himself. Walked, was the operative word. Normally she pounded through HQ, her stride determined and forceful. She never had time to stop and smell the roses. Or as normals called it, chit-chat. But now, she was winding her way leisurely through the small throng. A word for everyone present on her lips. And her smile. Astonishing in the fact that there was one present on her face. Usually she was scowling, or frowning, or yelling.
“Endorphins,” Alec whispered to himself. That had to be it. Her body was producing adrenalin to help her cope with her injury and she was riding a natural high with it. And as soon as they began to wear off, she’d come crashing down and be back to her normal self. It made sense to him. But even so, he was resolved to get her out of there before that inevitable fall happened and she took it out on someone other than her typical punching bag.
She had stopped then, nearby at Luke’s desk. Luke, Dix and another transhuman were clustered around the computer, while a transgenic, X-5 or X-6 by the look of him, waited rather impatiently as they input some data. All of this registered on Alec’s mind as he ambled over towards them. The transgenic must have been a newbie. In the final stage of clearance. Max reached them before he did though.
“Hey Dix, Luke, Trey,” she greeted each transhuman in turn and then looked straight at the newbie. “Jiminy, nice to see ya. How’s it goin’?”
Alec would have thought that Max knew the guy. Perhaps they’d been in the same unit before some of them ran. For Jiminy certainly wasn’t one of her brothers names, and he knew all those. That would have been his initial assessment, but for the fact that Max drew in a breath so quickly, it looked as if she might choke on it. Her eyes went slightly wide as she stared at the newbie. But the young man was just as puzzled as she was.
“Huh?” was the eloquent reply to her greeting. The young man glanced around at the others and seemed to note Alec making his way over. “What was that?”
“Oh,” Max stumbled over her words and bit at her lower lip, her eyebrows coming together. “Sorry, thought you were somebody else,” she stammered out. The moment passed as the transgenic turned back to what they were doing.
“Name?” Luke asked of the newbie as Alec came up to Max’s side. She didn’t acknowledge him, but instead watched as Luke continued to input data, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
“Don’t have one yet,” the transgenic answered with an apologetic shrug. This was nothing knew. Not all of the aliases that they’d worked under felt comfortable, some of them didn’t want to be reminded of the work they’d done while under those pseudonyms.
“Let us know when you do,” Dix instructed genially, “so we can update our records please.” The new transgenic glanced at Max, who was watching him now in a curious manner.
“I suppose Jiminy would work as well as anything else,” he threw out cautiously, then turned to Max. “If you don’t mind, that is,” he tacked on, rather deferentially.
“No, not at all,” she replied after a momentary pause. “Jiminy was a nickname for another guy I knew. Jim!” she blurted out. “His name was Jim. But everyone called him Jiminy. But that was a long time ago. Long time. Go ahead and use it. If you want.”
Alec knew that his eyebrow’s were furrowing. The more she babbled, the deeper the lines on his forehead grew. Max only ever babbled when she was nervous about something, or had a secret to hide. Was it possible that she knew this guy and didn’t want anyone to realize it? But as he pondered what possible motivation she could possibly have for that, he also realized that there was an awkward silence permeating the group.
“I don’t know Max,” he drawled with a trace of a grin on his face. “He doesn’t look like a cricket to me.” Four of the five pairs of eyes that swung towards him were completely puzzled. But more than understanding what he was referring to, Max was also smiling in kind. Was she relieved that he had just helped her smooth over an awkward moment? Maybe so, because she took the new topic and ran with it.
“God Alec,” she scoffed. “How much useless television and movie trivia do you have jammed in that head of yours? “ She turned to the others. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that Manticore had a useless pop culture 101 class to make it more effective for the soldiers to pass among the norms.” She glanced around and then rolled her eyes. “Oh please, tell me they didn’t.”
“What?” Jiminy frowned, then seemed to quickly think her logic through. Obviously she was assuming information based on their lack of answer. “Oh no,” he shook his head. “Not that I knew of anyway. We studied human history and whatnot. Any pop culture had to come from exposure during missions.”
“And Alec here was quite the sponge, huh?” Max grinned, poking Alec in his ribs. He flinched back and grabbed her finger before she could poke him again.
“What can I say Maxie?” he asked irreverently. “I’ve always had an agile mind.” He glanced at the other fellas. “And an agile body and an agile-!”
“Don’t even go there,” Max cried out, even as Trey grinned wickedly. Ale closed his mouth and winked at the other males. They all knew, Max included, just what he could have been referring to.
“So are we done here?” he demanded of Max, seeing that she was beginning to flag, just a little again. But she shook her head determinedly.
“One more thing,” she assured him. “I need to find Joshua.” Alec held her glance for a moment, trying to impart just how important this was to her. If he had had his way, he would have had her in bed moments after they’d entered TC and summoned Joshua to her apartment. But no, she was stubborn enough to still want to coddle the big dog man and would always end up seeking him out.
“All right,” he conceded. He addressed Dix, though his eyes didn’t leave hers. “Where’s Joshua at right now?”
“Ah,” Dix quickly glanced through the papers scattered amongst the desk. “I think he said he was going to be over at the commissary for a while, before he headed back to his apartment.”
“Can somebody get him?” Alec asked, then tacked on, “please?”
“No need,” Mole announced in his deep, loud voice. Alec and the rest of the group glanced up at the lizard-like transgenic. But Mole just calmly gestured to the main door with his cigar laden hand. Their heads swung around to see Joshua coming through the hall. Alec turned immediately to Max, to remind her of her promise to head off to bed, now that she had seen Joshua. But she was already moving towards her friend. Well, almost running, as quickly as she was moving.
“Hey little fella!” Joshua greeted her excitedly. His hands were full of brown paper bags, which he was juggling about with caution. “Took supper to Mack and Graham. Said Max had come home.”
“Yeah, I did Joshua,” Max nodded, waiting while he laid his packages down on the nearest desk. “I’m home,” she repeated the word, so softly it was almost a sigh. But her words carried through the silent room.
“Little fella good?” Joshua asked, with a modicum of concern in his voice. Everyone at TC had known within the hour about Max’s accident. Most weren’t too concerned right away, but for the people she was closest to. But as time went on and things looked slightly more bleak, then the rest of their small nation had begun to take notice. And Joshua’s nervous roaming and pitiful whimpering while he waited for word of his fallen friend had been quite the sight.
Alec, even from the distance he was behind her, could see the tension flowing from Max’s body, now that she was back in the safety of what he was starting to understand, her true home. And he was relieved. To a degree. If only she could relax around all of them like that, some of the tensions present among the various Manticore groups would begin to dissolve. Again, he pushed the thought away, to think on for another time. He watched with interest now, like the rest of the room’s occupants, as Max reached up a trembling hand, to stroke at Joshua’s cheek. And then she threw her arms around the larger figure and hugged him tightly, her face buried in his chest. But even muffled, Alec heard her words clearly.
“I’m good,” she affirmed. “Everything’s all right again.”
Chapter Three
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