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Hot water poured in a soothing shower down Alec's naked back, washing the stench and sting of the gasoline from his skin. The Manticore medics had taken one look at the fuel drenched X5 and had immediately stripped off his clothes and shoved him into the base's gang shower. Thirty minutes rinsing, they said. Alec didn't mind. He felt awful -- the taste of the gasoline in his mouth made him feel like vomiting -- and his nose, ears, and sinuses were swollen and clogged. His lungs hurt when he breathed too, and his eyes still stung. An ordinary would probably be in ICU, but his X5 physiology was standing him in good stead. He wasn't in any real danger, the doctors said. The burned tissue and mucous membranes should regenerate within a couple of days. However, in the meantime, the steam from the shower helped him breathe.

Lydecker, clipboard in hand and with no regards for privacy, stood just outside the spray of water taking notes. Apparently the debriefing couldn't wait. His voice hoarse from the gas vapors and weariness, Alec gave details of the mission, including an invaluable description of the other weapons in the silo, his photographic memory and keen sense of observation an X5 specific trait given him by the geneticists.

The colonel was pleased, and at last snapped closed the clipboard and left him alone in the shower with an admonition to check back with the medics when he was done.

Alec closed his eyes and leaned a shoulder against the cement wall, reluctant to leave the warm soothing water that felt so good on his aching muscles.

"You were right."

The X5's eyes snapped open and he gaped at Max who was standing nonchalantly just inside the shower facility's main door watching him. Automatically, he reached for the white towel hanging on a hook beyond the shower's spray.

"Don't worry about modesty on my account," Max said primly. "You've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Oh, and don't flatter yourself either. From the looks of--" A smile curved her lips. "--things, you're nothing special, not for an X5 at least."

Realizing he'd just been insulted, and deciding to call her bluff, Alec let go of the towel and ducked back under the water. "What do you want?" he asked coldly. "Other than to size up my potential I mean."

"Don't worry, pretty boy," Max said sweetly. "You may not take the prize, but you've got nothing to be ashamed of either."

"Max," Alec snapped. "Why are you here?"

"Maybe I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she said, her words eerily familiar for some reason.

"I'm all right," Alec replied, shutting off the water and turning to face her. He picked up the towel again and began to dry off. "My senses are dulled, taste and smell, but the docs say they'll be all right in a day or so."

"I also wanted to tell you that I think you were right originally," Max added.

"'Bout what?" Alec asked as he vigorously rubbed himself dry. He glanced up at her, a sly smile on his lips when he saw the way she was still watching him.

"About us not doing this for Lydecker. It was a bad idea, to offer to work for Manticore again. He almost got you killed."

"It's a dangerous job, Max. I knew that goin' in and so did you." He didn't understand her sudden concern.

"It's just that--" Max swallowed. "I don't want to lose you. You're Terminal City's leader now, not to mention all the other stuff you've done for Logan and me."

"Do I hear the hint of a 'thank you' somewhere in there?" Alec said, now drying off his tousled hair.

"You know how much I value you, Alec. And you know how much the others depend on you."

"You mean I'm more than just a screw up to you now, Max? Are you sayin' you trust me?"

"Not really," Max replied honestly. "But you're better than you used to be, more responsible, and, like I said, I'd hate to lose you."

"I'd hate to lose me too," Alec said sarcastically, for some reason miffed by this conversation. It was as if Max just couldn't bring herself to give him open praise. No matter how hard he tried, no matter what heroics he performed, he was still always the bad guy to her in one way or another.

He reached for the khaki trousers Lydecker had left and tugged them on. "But if it makes you feel any better," he said, zipping the fly, "I'm not keen on doin' another job for the colonel any time soon either. Bein' in this place gives me the creeps, even if we do have Lydecker's word he's not gonna try'n make us his newest X5 acquisitions -- at least this time around." He pulled the t-shirt over his head and looked around for shoes.

"Here," Max said, holding out a pair of new combat boots. "Size 11, right?"

"How'd you know my size?" Alec asked suspiciously, realizing she must have told Lydecker because he hadn't.

"Just a guess," Max said with a shrug as she headed for the door. But she paused with her hand on the knob, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "However, now that I've seen you," she added, "I don't have to guess about the size of something else of yours any more, do I, pretty boy?"

Alec opened his mouth, a smart remark on his tongue, but she was already gone.

*****

"I gather the mission was a success," Logan said, holding out his wine glass for a toast.

Max had returned earlier in the day, and he'd made a special dinner. In jeans and a soft, black formfitting t-shirt, she was relaxing on the couch, luxuriating in the feel of someone looking after her for a change, and for once not having anything life threatening to worry about.

"Eventually, yes," Max said. "But you know Alec. There was drama."

"What did he do?" Logan asked, refilling his own glass from the bottle of pre-pulse Chardonnay.

"Oh nothing much," Max said tiredly. "Just blew up the entire weapons silo and got himself completely soaked in gasoline. He's going to be miserable for a week after inhaling all those fumes."

"The mission went sideways on him?"

"That's putting it mildly," Max said. "Turns out our so-called 'source' had a secret agenda. He gave us the wrong code and Alec triggered a self-destruct. Then there was the small matter of guards who weren't supposed to be there. Lydecker had to do some last minute -- and I do mean last minute -- negotiations to save his sorry ass."

"Sounds like it wasn't Alec's fault."

Max sighed. "Not really, I suppose," she conceded. "But he just gets in so much damn trouble all the time. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it."

"If what's worth it?" Logan asked.

"Keeping him alive," Max said, her voice softening.

"You'd miss Alec if he was gone, Max," Logan said. "You know you would."

A sudden memory of Alec standing all nude, muscular, and glistening in that shower flashed in Max's mind. "Yeah," she said. "I'd miss the big jerk." She jumped to her feet and grabbed Logan by the hand. "Come on," she said, looking toward the bedroom.

"Now?" Logan said, his blue eyes widening with surprise. Max was rarely this impulsive, and she'd also been decidedly standoffish lately about sex.

"Now," Max said adamantly, her brown eyes boring into his as she tried desperately to stop thinking about Alec in that damn shower.

Logan grinned, and got to his feet, the exoskeleton whirring. "Lead the way, my lady," he said huskily.

Which is exactly what Max did -- all night long. But later, as she lay sleeping. wrapped in the arms of the man she loved, it wasn't Logan Cale who made her smile in her dreams.