Artwork courtesy of JensenAckles.Org

DISCLAIMER: All DARK ANGEL characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and DARK ANGEL itself belongs to FOX.

ARCHIVE: No

This is a stand-alone story in my DARK ALEC series. These stories are my version of Season 4, and incorporate elements not only of the television show DARK ANGEL, but of the novels SKIN GAME and AFTER THE DARK, the book THE EYES ONLY DOSSIER, and information revealed in various cast/writer/producer interviews, chats, and commentaries. -- author's note

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

Max went into labor a little after 11 p.m. on Thursday night, right in the middle of the Lenny Orowitz Hour -- a national comedy/talk show that Alec liked to watch on the big screen satellite TV the transgenics had set up in the rec room -- his way of relaxing before bed.

"Alec," she said calmly from the doorway of the former officer's lounge where he, Mole, Joshua, and half a dozen other X series were eating popcorn and laughing at Lenny's raunchy monologue. "My water just broke."

The handful of popcorn froze on its way to Alec's mouth, as he turned around in the dilapidated armchair and stared at his mate. "What?"

"My water just broke," she said with a tiny forced smile, her voice almost -- but not quite -- trembling. "The baby's coming."

"Max, you're not due for a month," he said, standing up and brushing popcorn crumbs off the front of his jeans. Coming around the chair, he gently took hold of her arm. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she said, this time her voice cracking.

Joshua, Mole, and the others were looking at them. Someone turned the television off.

"It's too soon," Alec said, not knowing quite what else to say.

"I know that!" Max snapped, tears forming in her eyes. "But I'm in labor." As if to emphasize her words, she clutched her abdomen and made a face. When the cramp passed, she said through clenched teeth, "The contractions started late this afternoon."

"Why the hell didn't you say something?" Alec exclaimed as Joshua came up behind Max and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I thought they'd stop," she said. "I don't want this to be happening, Alec. What if the baby--?"

"The baby will be fine," Alec said tightly. "Doc Carr said that even if it was early, it would have X5 lungs and probably be okay."

"Probably ..."

"Max, it's all I've got!" he exclaimed. Then he looked around at the others. "Luke, you're the medic."

"Get her to the infirmary," the little albino mutant said, finding his tongue and suddenly all business. He pointed a finger at Mole. "Find Gem, and Cally too. I'll need their help."

"I'll call Doc Carr," Alec said, moving toward the door. Cell phone reception was dicey this far out in the wilderness, but the radio phone in the control room had a strong signal they'd hijacked off a military satellite.

Mole stepped in front of him. "Get real," the lizard man said, for once not talking around a cigar stub. "It'll take that ordinary a good day to get here and by then it'll all be over 'cept the shoutin'."

"Then it'll take him a day!" Alec said, raising his voice. "But I'm callin' him anyway!"

"Fine," Mole said calmly, picking his stogie up from the ashtray on an end table and taking a puff. "Do what you hafta do."

Alec knew he wasn't acting rationally as he dialed Doctor Sam Carr's number in Seattle. Mole was right. They were on their own. The original plan had been to have the doc here the last week of Max's confinement, or at least a professional medic of some kind. But this premature delivery had FUBARed everything.

Alec got the doc's answering service and left a message, letting Sam know what was going on. Then he headed for the infirmary.

Max, her face bathed in sweat, had changed into a hospital gown, and was lying on a high cot trying to control her breathing as another contraction peaked. Cally -- a robust, big bossomed X5 with brilliant blue eyes and a head of long, curly, red hair who'd given birth to a bouncing baby boy a few months earlier -- was gently wiping her sister's brow with a cool wash cloth and uttering words of encouragement.

Luke, also in hospital scrubs and with stethoscope in hand, met Alec at the door. "Baby's heart beat is fine," he said, reassuring the X5 somewhat. "But I think we may have a problem."

Alec's heart leaped into his throat. "What?" he said, bracing himself.

"The little guy's breech, Alec," Luke said, shaking his grey head in apology as if that were somehow his fault.

"Can't you turn the brat around?" Mole asked from behind Alec, having followed his friend.

"I can try," Luke said. "But I've only delivered half a dozen kids here and I've never run into this before. I've read the medical books but--" He shrugged. "I wish we had a real doctor."

"So do I," Alec said, swallowing with difficulty. Then he walked to Max's bedside and took hold of her hand. Chest heaving, her face pale and slick with sweat, her hair ragged, she looked up at him with frightened eyes. "Alec?"

"Shhh," he said, kissing the top of her head. "It'll be all right. We'll get this kid into the world."

"What the hell do you mean we?" she panted as another contraction began. "I swear, Stud Boy, if I'd known you were gonna do this to me I'd have never let you touch me! This is all your fault, you know!" She closed her eyes then, gritting her teeth as the pain became unbearable.

Stricken, Alec backed away, not knowing what to say. But then he felt small hands touch the back of his shoulder -- Gem.

"We all say stuff like that when we're in labor, Alec," the petite X5 said with a reassuring smile. "She doesn't mean it. She just needs someone to cuss at and who better than the guy she loves more than anyone else in the world. I mean, if you can't take it from her, then who else can?"

Biting his lower lip, Alec glanced at Max again and nodded, calming down a little. After all, hurt feelings were small potatoes compared to what Maxie was going through, and if lighting into him made her feel better, then let her rip. "Luke says the baby's breech," he told Gem in a quiet voice.

The other X5 looked up at him too quickly, and he saw the fear in her eyes before she could disguise it.

"I know," he said. "We'll just have to do the best we can."

"She's a fighter, Alec," Gem said, once more laying a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine, and so will your son."

What could he say to that? Alec thought. Except to agree.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

14 hours later ...

"Max," Alec sobbed, his tear streaked face lying on the pillow beside her serene one as his hand gently stroked her hair. "I'm so, so sorry. It should have been me. I wish ... I never understood how dangerous this was for you. You're so much more valuable than me ... so much better ... so much more good ..."

"Soldier," a gruff voice said in his ear as rough fingers latched onto his shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done. It's not your fault. It's just the way of nature. Sometimes these things happen."

Alec's blood shot eyes blinked upwards to take in Colonel Donald Lydecker's weary lined visage hovering above him. His former C.O. looked like shit ... almost as if he'd been crying too."

"Go away," Alec growled, hugging Max to himself once again. "And don't ever tell me this was the way of nature. Nothin' in our lives is the way of fucking nature and you know it."

In an adjoining room came the tiny mewing sound of a baby's cry, but the X5 didn't seem to even hear it.

"494," Lydecker tried again. "You've lost her. She's gone but--"

"She's not gone!" Alec shouted, glaring up at the Colonel. "She's not dead!"

"No, she's not dead," Lydecker agreed gently, reaching to once more touch the younger man, but then drawing back his hand like a man realizing he might be bitten. "But she's never going to wake up again."

"You don't know that!" Alec yelled, his voice choking again with rage and tears as he again held Max's still body close to his own. "She could wake up any time."

"She suffered a massive brain hemorrhage, son. She stroked out. She's not coming back, and in fact will probably die within a few hours."

Alec closed his eyes tightly, not hearing the cruel words. "No," he said. "No. No. No. Max is strong. She wants to raise her son. She won't leave us."

"She's already left you!" Lydecker said harshly. "Snap out of it, 494! She's gone! But your baby needs you ... his father. Max wouldn't want you acting this way. She'd want you to let go and move on."

"No," Alec whispered, the tiny word the only thing he could now utter. "No. No. No." Closing his eyes even more tightly, he stretched out beside the woman he loved more than his own life, put a leg over hers, and locked arms possessively around her warmth.

I won't let you go, Max. Not now. Not ever.

*****

"We've gotta do somethin' 'bout him," Mole said in a low voice as he sat across the table from Joshua in the infirmary's makeshift lounge area. "It's been half a frickin' day and he's still won't let anyone touch her."

"Alec is very sad," Joshua said huskily, his tear swollen blue eyes mute testimony to his own savage grief. "He needs time to heal. We all need time to heal."

"Yeah, and in the meantime we've got no fuckin' leader," the ever-practical lizard man pointed out. "Unless you like Lydecker runnin' things."

Dix poked his head in the door. "The doc's here," he said, his voice tinged with sarcasm, like the others realizing Sam Carr was way too late to do anyone any good.

"Where is she?" Sam asked, pushing his way past Dix and coming into the room. "They told me she had a stroke."

"Where's my Boo?" another voice said.

Joshua's head shot up. "Cindy?" he said, his eyes widening. "Original Cindy? You came to see us?"

"I came to help my girl," the saucy bike messenger dressed in denim and a tight fitting red t-shirt corrected him. But then her tone softened as she gave Joshua a huge hug, her baubled earrings and bracelets jangling. "How you been doggy-dog?"

"Doggy-dog not been good, Cindy," Joshua said mournfully. "Max is all FUBAR. Alec, too."

"So I heard," Cindy said with a glance toward the infirmary door where Dr. Carr had already disappeared. "But I also heard the baby's all right?"

"Baby's fine," Mole said gruffly. "For what good it'll do us with his mom a vegetable and his dad freakin' outta his mind."

"Alec ..." Cindy said the name softly, glancing toward the door. "That boy's too high strung to take on trouble like this on top of everything else he's been through in his shitty life."

"Tell me about it," Mole said, shaking his scaly head sadly. "Alec's broken, and honest to God, I don't know if anyone or anything can fix him. In fact, it might just be better to go in and put the poor bastard outta his misery like Max did his brother."

Joshua's head went up in alarm.

"Don't talk like that!" O.C. said savagely. "Don't ever talk like that. Alec will be fine. He's strong, just like Max is strong. Together they're damn near invincible. They'll get through this."

"Not this time," said Mole -- still the prophet of doom. "Frickin' God or Mother Nature or whatever the shit rules this universe has done what Ames White, Davis Stendahl, and the whole U.S. Army haven't been able to do. They've defeated our dynamic duo."

O.C. let go of Joshua and headed for the inner door. "We'll just hafta to see about that," she said sassily. "Once Original Cindy gets done givin' her girl and her guy a good talkin' too things are gonna perk right up. You can put money on it."

Joshua actually looked hopeful at her words, but Mole simply growled and walked out of the room, washing his hands of them all.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

"How's the baby?" O.C. asked Sam. The two were standing several feet away from the bed where Alec was still cradling Max in his arms. Although his eyes were open, 494 hadn't even looked up when she entered, but was staring vacantly at the wall, seemingly oblivious to the world.

"A little premature, but nothing serious," Sam said. He then nodded at the bed, "And doing a whole lot better than either Mom or Dad right now."

"What's wrong with Max?" Cindy said.

"The baby was breech," the doctor replied with a huge sigh. "They're not equipped here to handle that kind of birthing emergency. If I'd been here I could have performed a C-section, but what happened is Max was in crisis labor for too long and her body couldn't take the strain. A blood vessel burst in her brain ... she had a stroke. Luke says she hung on just long enough to save the baby, then she blacked out." He glanced at her. "As for Alec, I'd have to guess he's in shock."

"Will Max wake up?" O.C. asked.

Dr. Carr shrugged. "Difficult to tell. She could be out for days ... weeks ... months or years, or she could die within the next few hours. If she's still alive in a couple of days I'd suggest moving her to a full term care facility for coma patients. They'll do what they can to re-awaken her, and care for her if they can't."

"Max would rather be dead than be kept alive as a vegetable," Cindy said.

"I know," he agreed softly, but -- like her -- not willing to say what they were both thinking.

"We've got to snap him out of this," O.C. said, regarding Alec with big worried eyes. "If that baby can't have its mama, it sure as hell is gonna need its daddy."

"I know that, too," Sam said. "But I doubt he'll listen to me."

"Well, Pretty Boy will listen to me," O.C. said firmly, rolling up the sleeves of her denim jacket and heading for Max's bed.

*****

Alec knew that O.C. was here ... that he should at the very least be surprised Max's friend had made the trip all the way from Seattle. However, he didn't feel surprised.

He didn't feel anything.

"He's in shock," Alec heard Dr. Carr say to Cindy when she came into the room. "Can't say as I really blame him."

Everything felt and sounded as if it were happening in a movie or a play ... that real life had somehow been suspended ... the voices and people around him nothing more than figments in a dream ... what had happened to Max nothing more than a nightmare.

"Alec ... honey," O.C. said, pulling a chair up beside the bed where the X5 was lying alongside his unconscious mate. She reached out and lightly touched his shoulder, letting her hand rest there. "You know you've gotta come correct on this ... that you can't go all psycho and withdrawn on your girl now."

He heard her ... but the words didn't matter. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in Max's hair, inhaling her scent, his arm drawing her even closer as tears found their way down his cheeks. Somewhere in another room a baby was crying.

"You've got a son, you know," O.C. tried. "A fine healthy X5 boy who's a tad on the early side but from the sounds of things wantin' to kick ass already just like his mama and papa." Her fingers tightened on his shoulder. "You gonna deprive that baby of his daddy? His mama can't help where she is right now, Alec, but you've got a choice. And it's not like Max is dead. She could wake up any minute, or so the doc says."

"She's not gonna wake up," Alec mumbled, the first words he'd managed in hours.

"Maybe ... maybe not," O.C. said gently. "But that's not really for you or me to say now, is it? You don't have control over Max right now, Alec. But there's still plenty you can do. Hell, boy, what do you think my girl would say to you if she knew how you were actin' all mopey and dramatic? You know how much she wants that baby in there ... how much she already loves him. Now, she can't take care of her son, but that's what she's got you for. Max is countin' on you, Alec. If for no other reason than that you've gotta get that transgenic ass of yours in gear and stop this shit that's scarin' all of us."

"Leave me alone," he said in a low voice, wishing she'd go away but knowing that probably wasn't going to happen. O.C. was stubborn that way ...

"Not until you get your ass outta that bed and start walkin' with the livin' again," she scolded. "Alec," she said more gently. "Doc Carr's doin' everything he can. You know that. And in the meantime the rest of your family needs you ... your son needs you."

Gem had quietly approached behind O.C., cradling Max's newborn in her arms as she gave him a bottle.

"Look at your boy, Alec," O.C. said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Sit yourself up and take a good long look at what you helped make. He's part of you, and he's part of Max."

The baby gave a little gurgling cry -- a sound that, oddly, was more real for Alec than anything anyone had been saying for the past few hours. Compelled by something beyond his control, the X5 turned his head and looked up through bleary eyes at the tiny newborn ... his son. Then, he looked once more at Max -- and knew what he had to do. Struggling to a sitting position -- his limbs stiff from lying so long in the bed -- he held out his arms. "Give him to me," he commanded, his voice deep and low and husky.

Gem didn't hesitate. She handed the child to his father.

Alec looked down into a pair of blue eyes that already showed hints of hazel and green to come ... eyes full of confusion and wonder and trust ... He was a father. This child was going to be raised by a family ... raised with love like the Manticore children had never known. He had responsibilities that went beyond Max now ...

Hugging the infant to himself, Alec inhaled deeply, imprinting the scent of his offspring in his brain. Tired of being squeezed (and probably still hungry), the little one mewed angrily, waving tiny protesting fists in the air, and -- for the first time almost 3 days -- X5-494 smiled.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

O.C. reached across the table and gently touched the back of Alec's hand. "She's got that superduper healing dealio going on, Boo. And you know my girl's a fighter. She'll get better. Just give her time."

Alec sighed heavily, seemingly lost in the mysteries of the swirling glass of Scotch Gem had brought him. The two friends were seated in a back corner of the mess hall, the building relatively empty at this time of day. A moment later Gem reappeared at Alec's elbow, this time with a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and hash browns in one hand, and a cup of hot black coffee in the other.

"Eat," the pretty X5 admonished him. "You're no good to Max and your son if you faint from hunger or drink yourself into a stupor."

"X5s don't faint," Alec said, draining the glass of liquor and making a face as it cauterized his throat on the way down. "They shut down," he added with a small gasp. "We're weapons systems, remember?" A faint ghost of a smile touched his full lips as he set the Scotch glass decisively down and raised very tired eyes to Gem, at the same time nodding his thanks for the food.

O.C. shook her high-coiffed curls. "Faintin', passin' out, or shutin' down, call it what you want, the fact of the matter is, you need to stay strong right now. Now do what the lady says. Eat!"

Dutifully, Alec picked up a fork, stabbed some eggs, and popped them into his mouth while O.C. watched with arms crossed in front of her ample chest. The truth was, everything tasted like cardboard to him, and he felt more than a little bit sick on his stomach, but he knew that was just hunger and nerves. O.C. was right. his blood sugar was in his socks right now and that certainly wasn't going to be helping with clear thinking.

The X5 chewed a moment, then pointed the fork at O.C. and said, "Max's healing abilities aside, her coma's not the only thing that's scarin' the shit outta me. She's got progeria, O.C."

The black girl's sharply tweezed eyebrows shot up.

"We got it under control temporarily so the baby would have a chance, but she's gonna need the full treatment soon. This guy -- Henry Bruster -- is on the way from New York. There's a genetic cure ... a way to fix her DNA ... but at this point--"

The sound of the mess hall door opening made the two friends turn and look toward a painfully bright square of sunlight. Shielding his eyes, Alec saw Lydecker crossing the floor to join them.

"I just got back from Washington," the Colonel said, his unshaven face, bleary eyes, and rumpled business suit attesting to the journey. "How is she?"

"Bad," Alec said, swallowing the lump in his throat along with the eggs.

"And the baby?"

"Healthy."

"Cryptic much," O.C. commented. Then she turned to the Colonel. "What Daddy here isn't sayin' is that Max stroked out during the labor and is in a coma, but junior's doin' peachy keen."

Lydecker's mouth drew down into a deep frown.

"The baby was breech. She suffered an aneurysm," Alec clarified, forcing another morsel of food into his mouth. "And the progeria's getting worse again."

"Henry Bruster's already on his way," Lydecker said. "I put in the call as soon as I heard Max was in labor. Maybe he can help with her other problem too."

Truthfully, Alec doubted that. Max's life was now in the hands of her Manticore healing abilities, and a higher power. But Bruster's presence certainly couldn't hurt. "Thanks," he said gruffly. Putting the fork down, he then dropped his face into his hands, the exhaustion -- physical and psychological -- suddenly overwhelming. O.C.'s hand touching his, however, made him look up.

"Eat another few bites, then go sleep, Boo," she said gently. "Don't worry. I'll stay with Max ... won't leave her side until you're awake again."

Alec appreciated the gesture more than O.C. could possibly know. Truth was, the saucy lesbian was one of the few people in the world he actually would trust Max's life to, not to mention his own. She was a good friend ...

"Maybe I'll do that," he said quietly. "But first--"

The sound of the mess hall door slamming open made all three jump -- Lydecker and O.C. with alarm, Alec with battle wariness.

"Guys!" Luke shouted from the opening, his sleight form framed in silhouette against the bright sunlight outside.

"Max!" Alec exclaimed, jumping to his feet with his heart in his throat. "Is she--?"

"Not Max," Luke said, gasping for breath as if he'd come here at a dead run. "It's the baby! He's gone!"

*****

Photo courtesy of JRAUnlimited.com

"How the fuck did this happen?" Alec said menacingly as he looked over Dix's shoulder at the monitors in the base control room. "This is supposed to be a secure facility for God's sake!" He glanced at a very white-faced Lydecker who was standing a few feet away, knowing full well what the Colonel must be thinking of his careless, stupid not-so-super-soldiers right now.

"There," Dix said, pointing to a radar image he'd backed out of the timed loop that constantly recorded air traffic in the area. He pointed at the screen with a chewed fingernail. "That's a chopper ... military issue. Coming in forty-five minutes ago."

"Why didn't an alarm sound?" Alec asked.

"Because it was outside our defense perimeter," Dix explained. "Not considered a threat. Besides, the Army occasionally resupplies the troops it has babysittin' us and helicopter traffic isn't all that unusual. As for how they got inside the fence ..." He stole a nasty look in Mole's direction. "That's not my department."

"It's still on the ground?" Alec asked, even as he was shrugging into his leather jacket.

"Yes," Dix said. He glanced up at the X5. "But the engine's hot. It won't be there for long."

"Mole!" Alec barked, whirling and catching the short-barrel shot gun the lizard man tossed across the room. "You're with me! We'll take the bikes." But he paused on his way out the door to look down into O.C.'s worried brown eyes where she was standing beside a very anxious Joshua. "Go to Max," he said, speaking to both of them. "Stay with her until I get back."

"Don't worry, Alec," Joshua said, giving O.C.'s shoulder a squeeze. "We'll take care of Little Fella. You just go get Baby back."

The two motorcycles -- Alec's green Duke and Max's black Ninja -- flew out the gates, heading at break-neck speed for McKinley's troops and the chopper that undoubtedly was being used for kidnapping.

"Alec," Dix's voice crackled in the mic in the X5's ear. "Hurry. That bird's revving up."

But they were still more than a mile away ... Bending low over the bike, the wind whipping wickedly at his hair and back, Alec increased the speed of the Duke, ignoring the dangers of a gravel, pot-hole-filled road, weaving around obstacles with more skill than any human moto-cross driver had ever possessed, and leaving Mole on the Ninja in the dust.

"Alec!" Dix's voice cried. "They're taking off!"

The bike crested the last hill, leaving the ground in an aerial jump, just in time for Alec to see a black stealth chopper rising in a whirl of sand. Breaking to a halt that would have been screeching if on asphalt, the X5 leaped off the bike and whipped up the shotgun, taking aim at the rotors even as blowing grit hit his sunglasses, forcing him to squint his eyes.

"Don't!" Mole's voice yelled above the din of the chopper's engine. "You'll make' 'em crash!"

Alec's finger tightened on the trigger, the thought that his son was on board that helicopter and being taken away from him more than he could bear. But Mole was right. The risk was too great. Lowering the weapon, the X5 could only crane his neck and watch in despair as the Sikorsky gained altitude, tauntingly circled the area once, then headed off toward the setting sun.

It was over. He'd lost -- everything.

Head bowing in utter defeat, Alec's numb fingers dropped the gun on the ground as he began to sob.

*****

"I'm scared as shit that he's gonna suicide," Mole said, chomping on his cigar stub in vicious exasperation as he, Lydecker, O.C., and Joshua sat together in the mess hall later that night. "You know ... cap himself between the eyes or swallow a bullet?"

"Alec would never do that to Max," Joshua declared, shaking his shaggy head in denial. "Alec is too full of life. Alec doesn't want to die."

But O.C. was also shaking her head. "I dunno. Max once told me about a time her boy nearly let some dude shoot him down without puttin' up so much as a fight. He was feelin' all guilty about that first love of his -- Rachel -- and her daddy wanted revenge in a big way. Alec's guilt trip almost cost him his life that night. If Max hadn't shown up to save his sorry ass, he'd have been a goner ... and it really would've been suicide. So, don't tell me he's not capable of it.

"He almost killed himself over Rachel Berrisford?" Lydecker said, somber blue eyes glittering in the half-dark of the shut down mess hall as a cup of coffee grew cold at his elbow. "I never knew that."

"Well, now you do," O.C. said tartly. "I'm just sayin' that Froggie here might have a point. We've got to keep an eye on the guy."

"Luke pumped him full of a sedative," the Colonel said. "494 should sleep through the night and probably half of tomorrow as well. By then Bruster might be here and maybe that will give him some hope."

"What about the baby?" O.C. asked, voicing the question in all of their minds.

Lydecker shrugged. "We have no idea who took him, let alone where that chopper was going. Where would we start to look?"

"Where we start is with Alec and Max's enemies," O.C. said.

"That could be a pretty long list," Mole grumped, a wreath of white smoke encircling his head as he puffed savagely on the stogie.

"Then I suggest we start makin' it," the black girl snapped. Looking around at the others, she clenched her jaw. "What the hell's wrong with you all? Max and Alec's son has been baby-napped and everyone is just sittin' here sayin' there's nothin' can be done? When my girl wakes up -- and she will wake up -- she's gonna want her kid, and I'll be damned if she's gonna be disappointed even if I hafta go out and find that little X5 myself!"

"You won't have to do that, O.C.," a quiet voice said from behind them.

Four heads swiveled around to stare at a very weak-kneed, but on his feet 494.

"I'll find my son, even if I have to spend the rest of my life lookin' for him."

Bold words coming from such an exhausted man ... or rather exhausted transgenic.

"You should be in bed," O.C. said, rising and quick-stepping to Alec's side. "You're so worn out and full of meds you can't be thinkin' straight."

"I'm thinkin' straight enough, O.C.," Alec said with a ghost of a smile lighting up bloodshot eyes. "And I'm thinkin' the place to start is with that list you guys were talkin' about. Who would want my kid so badly as to risk comin' in here to get him? Who would have the resources to pull it off? And most importantly of all, who the hell would know that he'd even been born?"

"This compound has been under a military microscope since the transgenics took it over," Lydecker pointed out. He took a sip of the cold coffee, made a wry face, then added, "Satellite surveillance ... long range audio sensors ... with the right kind of analysis Quantico might have been able to tell Max had gone into labor." Spotting Gem nearby, the Colonel indicated for her to bring Alec coffee too, then he motioned for the X5 to be seated.

Gratefully, Alec sank into a chair, holding his head up with effort. He was incredibly sleepy, but at the same time he hadn't been able to truly sleep which is why he'd gotten up and found his way here -- to the strategy session.

O.C. cleared her throat. "I told Sketchy," she confessed. "And Normal ... and few of the others at Jam Pony. Alec ... I'm sorry ... I--"

The X5 held up a hand. "Doesn't matter," he said gently. "Like 'Deck says, the military probably knew about it anyway.

"We could have a spy in the compound," Mole pointed out. "In fact--" He looked around. "Have we done a head count to see if anyone's missing?"

Alec slapped himself on the forehead. Of all the idiotic things to overlook.

"I'll get Dix on it," Mole said, standing up. "Although I hate to think it -- one of us sellin' out to the enemy."

"But even if it was an inside job," Alec said, sipping the strong, black, heavily sugared coffee Gem set in front of him after the lizard man left, "whoever it was had to be workin' for someone else, right? Someone with access to a helicopter?"

"McKinley," Lydecker said. "Or Stendahl." He grinned wickedly. "Should we flip a coin?"

"Or maybe just a disgruntled Freak hater," O.C. added.

But Alec was agreeing with the Colonel. "Wouldn't have the resources," he said. "Even if they did have the hate. No. 'Deck's right. It's either the Familiars or Jack's step-father."

"Too bad your clone daddy-bro had to go back into hiding," O.C. said. "You could use his help about right now."

"I know how to contact him," Alec said. "But I don't want to drag Jack into this unless I have to. He's got his own ass to worry about, not to mention a fiance who loves him and a baby of his own on the way. No. This is transgenic business. We handle it ourselves."

Mole slipped back through the door. "Dix did a quick base body count and no one's missin'," he said.

Alec leaned back in his chair, then glanced up at his friend. "What about foreign nationals? Reds maybe? Or the Chinese?"

"What about 'em?" Mole said with a shrug. "That baby's worth a fortune, just like any of you X5s are, but the same set of problems holds true -- knowledge, access, and transportation."

"But if no one's missing from the compound," Alec said. "That means whoever it was not only got out ... they got in past our security systems, and that takes some doin'."

"I know," Mole said, sounding chagrined. "I'm in charge of security, remember. But Dix swears everything was on line and working just find. In fact, he says nothin' bigger 'n a mouse could have slipped past his surveillance."

"Well it did," Alec said. "We've obviously got a hole in the grid and we need to find and fix it. But how they got in and out is beside the point now. What matters is where my son is."

"That chopper flew west," Mole said. "Seattle would be in range."

"I know," Alec said, glancing at the window where dawn was just beginning to break. "Which means I think we need to pay a visit to Senator William McKinley."

"It's a place to start," Lydecker said quietly. "Albeit a dangerous one. You'll essentially be bearding the lion in his own lair."

"I'm goin' with you," Mole said.

"No," Alec replied, the look in his eyes not brooking argument. "You stay here and figure out how to make this compound safe again."

Joshua raised his hand. "I'll go," he offered.

Alec smiled, appreciating the gesture. "Not this time, big guy. I need you to keep watch over Max. You're her body guard, remember?"

"Body guard," Joshua repeated. "Right. Joshua will guard Max."

"And I'll stay here and work on trying to gather intel from my own sources," Lydecker said. "If it was an international job, there will be chatter, and if it was Stendahl, my internal links will eventually let me know. It's how I found you once before, remember?"

"I remember," Alec said. "Thanks, 'Deck."

O.C. cleared her throat.

"No," Alec said without even looking at her.

"But I need a ride back home anyway," she said. "And it seems to me you at least owe me that much."

"It's too dangerous," Alec insisted.

"Oh, and stayin' here in this compound of yours where kidnappers walk in and out whenever they want isn't?" she sassed.

"You'll slow me down," Alec tried.

"What I'll do is keep you ass awake and make sure you eat enough to fuel up that fine transgenic body of yours," she said. "You need a keeper sometimes, Alec. Did anyone ever tell you that?"

"Not really," the X5 replied wearily, knowing he was going to lose this argument if for no other reason than that he was simply too tired not to. "All right," he conceded. "You can come to Seattle with me. But that's it, O.C. Once we're there, you go home. Understood?"

The beautiful black woman was smiling. "No problem, hot boy. No problem at all."

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

She never complained. Not even once. And Alec had to admire O.C. for that.

He drove straight through from Gillette to Seattle, ignoring speed signs, pushing his Duke to its limits on the flat open roads, stopping only four times to eat, drink, and answer the call of nature.

He made the trip in under 15 hours, enduring wind, sun, darkness, and one hellacious thunderstorm -- O.C.'s arms wrapped tightly around his waist and her head resting warm against his back the whole way -- a grueling journey for even an X5, let alone an ordinary human.

At dusk on the second day of their journey he pulled the bike to the side of the road at the Seattle City Limits sign on Rt. 90. They were still surrounded by woods, but Alec knew that civilization began just a short distance ahead. Time to make a plan.

"You got a plan?" O.C. said, as if reading his mind.

Alec glanced back at the girl sitting behind him, and for the first time felt a pang of guilt. Cindy looked pretty bad -- her hair windblown, her face dirty and chapped from the elements, and her dark brown eyes filled with weariness. She had to be hungry too. He knew he was.

"The plan is to get you home," he said gently with a sympathetic little smile. "Sorry about the 'death march' ride. Sometimes I forget."

"Forget what?" O.C. snorted as she tried to pull a pocket comb through her hopelessly tangled hair. "That us ordinaries don't have X5 stamina? Hey, Pretty Boy. News flash. I can out ride and out last you any day of the week! Not to mention I can hold my sissy longer. You're the one who had to make that last pit stop, remember?"

"I drank too much coffee," Alec protested, appreciating, as always, O.C.'s blunt humor.

"And now you're dead on your feet again," O.C. pointed out. "You take me home, and that's where you'll crash for a few hours before we tackle old McKinley."

"There's no we in this, O.C.," Alec said, his voice growing serious. "It's too dangerous for you to be involved. I'll be fine on my own."

"Cut the solo assassin shit, Alec. This ain't no one-man job and you know it. 'Sides, Max would have my hide if she thought I let her main squeeze tackle a nest of those Snake-boys all on his own." Taking hold of Alec's leather clad arm, she looked earnestly into his eyes. "You got friends in this town, sugar, whether you know it or not. Friends who will help you get your baby son back. Now, take me home and once we're rested we'll come up with a way to tackle this bitch head on."

*****

Greta Photo courtesy Still Frame

Greta Schnapps, Jam Pony messenger and O.C.'s current roommate, entered the apartment, her arms full of groceries -- and did a doubletake at the site of a very nicely built young man clad in black t-shirt and jeans sprawled sound asleep on the couch.

"Shhh," O.C. said, from where she was working in the kitchen, pressing finger to lips.

Greta shook her pony-tailed head in wonder, green eyes widening. "Since when did you switch teams, sister?" she asked softly.

"Since she decided she liked bats and balls," Alec yawned, brushing long strands of dark blond hair out of his eyes and peering up at the newcomer. "Hey, Greta. Long time no see."

"You wish!" O.C. harumphed. "Bats and balls my ass."

"As I said ...," Alec taunted, smirking at his own pun.

"Alec?" Greta said, setting down the groceries and coming closer to the couch where the X5 was now stiffly sitting up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Dressed in a tight hot pink top and baby blue peddle-pushers complete with braid belt and a necklace made of hearts, the perky messenger Alec had once given a passing thought to dating looked much the same as he remembered. "Maybe I came to ask you out," the X5 said, falling into flirtation out of old habit.

The girl looked at O.C. for help.

"Alec's fine but lonely ass is gonna be our house guest for a few days," Cindy explained easily. "He's got a little business to take care of in Seattle."

"What kind of business?" Greta asked darkly, now eying Alec a bit more warily as she apparently remembered those frightening hours during the Jam Pony siege two years before. "I thought you guys were all finished with Terminal City ... that you'd cleared out for good."

"We did clear out," Alec said, blinking sleepy eyes as he gratefully accepted the cup of coffee O.C. handed him. "I'm here on somethin' personal."

"Personal?" the girl questioned.

O.C. looked hard at Alec, leaving it up to him.

"Max and I had a son," he said bluntly, dropping the act and diving into dead serious. "Someone kidnapped him, and we think that someone is here in Seattle."

"Senator McKinley?" Greta guessed.

"Clever girl," the X5 said with a trace of a sly smile returning.

"You can't take on a U.S. Senator, Alec," Greta said.

"I've killed more important men than him," the X5 replied softly, a chill in his tone branding the statement fact, not boast.

"Don't," Greta said, shaking her head slowly. "Don't you dare get O.C. and me involved in this. It's bad enough what happened at Jam Pony ... how we were all nearly killed because of you ... you ..."

"Freaks," Alec supplied, one eyebrow quirking.

"I didn't say that."

"No, but it's what you were thinkin'. Don't worry," he added, taking another sip of coffee. "I'm used to it. And I've got no intention of draggin' O.C. into my stink. As soon as it gets dark I'm outta here and the two of you probably won't see me again."

"Whoa," O.C. said, patting the air with her hands. "I meant it when I said you aren't on your own in this, Alec."

"And I meant it when I told you to beat it," he said, his voice low as he looked up at her, green-gold eyes that seemed to glow slightly in the growing gloom colliding with hers.

"Not on your life," the saucy girl replied, hands on hips. "I'm in this all the way for Max, if for no other reason. And if that means helpin' her man along the way, then so be it."

Her house guest shrugged, too tired to argue further. Besides, Alec thought to himself, in a way it was nice having someone he could trust around that he could fall back on.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

"Hey, Normal," Alec said. "Long time, no see."

The Jam Pony manager's head shot up like he'd been hit with a shock prod. Going over the day's receipts before locking up for the evening, Reagan Ronald had been lost in concentration over the stack of delivery sheets on his desk, and the X5's silent entry had gone entirely unnoticed.

"Jumpin' Jimminy, where the fire truck did you come from?" he exclaimed.

"Wyoming," Alec replied with a little shrug. "I need your help, Normal."

Wiping his suddenly perspiring brow with a cloth handkerchief, Normal continued to stare at his former employee with owlish eyes. "What kind of help?" he finally said. "And I trust it's not going to involve gun play?"

"No gun play," Alec promised. Then he thought about that a moment. "At least not yet. What I need is to use your computer."

"Are you alone in town?" Normal asked, leaning in his seat to peer into the darkness behind Alec.

"Yeah," Alec said simply. "I'm alone."

"Where's Max? Isn't she due to have that baby about now?"

Alec bit down on his lower lip and looked away, toward the orange lockers. His eyes were filling with tears, and he didn't want Normal to see. "Max ... uh ... she's kind of under the weather. The baby was born two days ago."

The Jam Pony manager rose from his chair and came around to the other side of the cage to stand beside the X5. "Alec. What aren't you telling me? Not that I have any right to ask. But-- Missy Miss was always special to me. You know that."

Sniffing loudly, Alec swallowed the tears and nodded. "Max is in a coma," he said huskily. "Birth complications."

"And you came to Seattle to get her medical help?" the other man asked, not understanding.

"No," Alec said. "She's got enough doctors. I came to Seattle to get back my son. He's been kidnapped, Normal. And I think McKinley and his Snake Cult buddies are the ones who took him."

Nothing more needed to be said. Reagan Ronald simply stood aside and gestured toward the computer.

*****

Alec used Normal's office computer connection to look up all recent news articles regarding Senator James McKinley's activities. Four cups of coffee later, and with the Jam Pony manager snoring on the cot against the wall, the X5 still hadn't found anything useful other than a few names of McKinley supporters who might, or might not, be Cultists too. Except -- there was one thing ...

A sound at the messenger service's front door made Alec look up. Dawn was breaking, which meant the first employees were arriving to clock in. Turning around in the chair, he reached over and shook Normal awake. "Rise and shine, big guy," he said. "Another day, another dollar."

Straightening his glasses, the manager blinked. "Did you find what you were looking for?" he yawned.

"Maybe," Alec said. "Thanks for lettin' me use the equipment." He held up the ceramic cup. "And for the coffee."

Someone was rattling the front door now, pounding on it to be let in. Normal took a set of keys from a hook on the wall. "You goin' out the back?" he asked.

"My bike's in the alley."

"Alec," Normal said. "If you need a place to ... you know ... go to ground, you've got my address."

"Thanks," Alec said, meaning it.

"And let me know about Max and the baby," the manager added.

Alec nodded, then headed for the back door.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

"Normal's gonna can your ass if you don't show up for work," Alec pointed out as O.C. fussed in the kitchen fixing them both breakfast. "Greta's already gone."

"Let me worry about Mr. Bip Bip's attitude," Cindy admonished him. "'Sides, I told him I was gonna take a week off and I've still got a couple of days. Did you find what you were lookin' for?"

"Not really," Alec said, dropping to wearily sprawl on the couch. "I still can't come up with much of a plan beyond forcin' my way into that slug's office and throttling him until he tells me where my kid is."

"That would get you nothin' but dead, Super Boy. You know that dude's got some heavy duty guards workin' for him, not to mention that whole Familiar strength dealio and the backing of the Mayor and Sector Police. What with so many people dying of that flu bug that's goin' around -- which you and me know isn't really the flu -- Seattle is even more of a military state than it was when you left."

"They're doin' just what Mathias said they'd do," Alec said, having to give credit where credit was do. "Those cult members might not have had the big holocaust they were expecting when the comet came last year, but whatever that bio toxin is, it's slowly workin' its way through the population ... decimating the ranks as we say in the military. Eventually, they're gonna win."

"Not if Max's blood can stop it," O.C. pointed out.

"The CDC made a vaccine from her blood a long time ago, O.C.," Alec reminded her. "I can't help it if they're not distributin' it."

"Yeah, well that bug is all over the city. We've lost three at Jam Pony in the past couple of months already. They died, Alec."

"You all right?" Alec suddenly asked, realizing that O.C. might be in danger.

"Thanks to Lydecker, me and mine all got inoculated last year," she said. "Max made him lean on the CDC to get the vaccine."

Alec hadn't known that, but it didn't surprise him.

"Alec," the girl said. "Why do you suppose McKinley wants that child anyway?"

"Revenge," Alec said simply. "Either that or for some kind of blackmail against us transgenics. We're still a big threat to their world takeover plan, O.C. Any way you slice it. Maybe he thinks he can control Max and me -- the leaders -- if he's got our kid."

"You been inoculated against that comet bug?" she asked quietly.

"I'm supposedly born immune," Alec said with a shrug.

"Supposedly?"

Bostock's words suddenly came back to haunt Alec. Even those of us with our special breeding face a small risk -- as do the transgenics.

He shook it off, and told himself he was imagining that his throat felt scratchy, and that his exhaustion was simply because he'd once more gone two whole days without sleep.

"What's your next move?" O.C. asked.

"Logan Cale," he said in a low voice.

"Shit," the black girl spat. "I knew you were gonna go and say that."

Alec grinned humorlessly. "Yeah, yeah ... Cale's still McKinley's P.R. tool, usin' his Eyes Only broadcasts to stick it to the transgenics whenever he can, a scorned lover's revenge. McKinley might be livin' in Fort Knox, but I imagine Logan's still all dialed in up in that penthouse apartment of his where he moved after leavin' the TC area. I'm thinkin' I'll drop by and pay him a little visit tonight ... see what he might know about a certain missing baby."

"Alec ... honey ... you know Logan ain't gonna be just sittin' there waitin' for you. He knows what your kind can do, and he knows how to guard against it."

"I'll be careful, O.C.," Alec promised, stretching out on the couch, crossing arms on chest, and closing his eyes. "'Cause I'm the only one right now who can get my son back. Plus, Max would never forgive me if I went and died on her."

"No, she would not," O.C. agreed softly as she pulled a blanket up over the sleepy X5.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & Eyes Only

No, she would not ...

Max's eyes moved in her unconsciousness, jerking side-to-side beneath the lids as her brain struggled to make use of newly healed pathways ... accessing memories ... re-igniting emotions ...

Something was awakening deep inside of X5-452 ... something perhaps even Sandeman had never intended ...

Alec! Max silently called as she watched her lover sleeping in her old Seattle apartment, like in a dream that's not a dream. Alec! her lips twitched his name as she saw him with Logan ... saw a gun ... a flash of fire ...

Alec! she wept in the blackness of her mind's prison as -- in slow motion -- she saw a bullet pierce that high handsome forehead, right between the eyes ... watched in silent horror as blood and brains exploded out the back of his skull, splattering across the shiny surface of a kitchen counter ... watched her mate lying there on the hardwood floor of Logan Cale's penthouse apartment twitching, golden green eyes open and unseeing as life fled from his body and his beautiful mind ... his precious soul ... vanished into nothingness to the tune of Eyes Only's laughter.

Alec!

Max opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed with I.V.s in both arms, and no memory of why that should be.

The baby ...

"Max?" Luke said from the doorway, nearly dropping the tray he was carrying in his surprise at seeing her awake.

"Tell me what happened, and tell me now!" Max demanded, struggling to sit up as she began yanking out the I.V.s. "Where's Alec? And where's my son?"

She got the Cliff Notes version -- including the fact that the newly arrived Henry Bruster was administering a fix for her faulty DNA. When Luke was done, Max already had her feet on the floor and was asking for her clothes.

They tried to keep her ... Dix, Mole, Bruster, even Lydecker threatening to tie her back down to the bed. The treatment wasn't finished, they said. She'd been in a coma for days, they said.

But none of that mattered to X5-452. Nothing and no one was going to keep Max from rescuing her mate and her child. Alec needed her. Of that she was certain. If she didn't get to him, he was going to die.

*****

Alec slept almost 12 hours, and when he woke up he knew he was in trouble.

"You've got a fever," O.C. said, shaking her dark curls in worry as she touched the back of her hand to his stubbled cheek.

"No, I don't," Alec said, willing it to be true as he popped four tryptophan tablets into his mouth and swallowed them dry. "Higher basal body temperature, remember?"

"Basal body temperature my fine ass," O.C. shot back at him. "Sugar, you're burnin' up." She looked toward the bedroom door. "Greta's sick, too."

"Must be flu goin' around," Alec said calmly even as he sat up and reached for his boots. "Don't worry about me. I'll kick it off. Manticore's revved up immune system came with my deluxe package."

"And if it's that Familiar bio toxin?" O.C. said, putting into words what Alec had been trying his best not to think. "Alec ... honey ... there's been casualties in Seattle ... almost a hundred people dyin' from this mystery flu that no one seems able to treat. If Greta's got it--" She didn't finish.

"Then you better get her to a hospital right away," Alec said succinctly as he tied the laces of his left boot. "I'll be fine. Even if it is the plague, I'm supposedly immune. I'll get over it."

"And in the meantime you're gonna confront Logan Cale on his home turf while you're -- pardon the expression -- sick as a dog."

"I'm not that sick," Alec insisted.

"At least eat something," O.C. said.

The X5 held up a hand. "Not hungry. Throat's too sore. But I'll be fine. Logan's gonna tell me where McKinley has my kid, and then I'm gonna go get him. Simple." He took his cell phone out of his pocket and checked for messages. There weren't any.

"No word on my Boo?" O.C. asked.

"They'd call if there was any change," Alec said, sure of that if nothing else. "Max must be holdin' her own."

"You gonna check?"

Alec was tempted ... but what if the news wasn't good after all? He shook his head. "Later. When I can tell the gang I succeeded. When I can tell Max that junior's safe and sound and in his daddy's arms."

"Junior," O.C. said softly. "You two pick a name for that boy yet?"

Alec's full lips twitched in a smile as a faraway look softened the hardness in his eyes. "I've got some ideas," he said. "But decided to wait for him to arrive to make the final choice."

"You're not gonna let Max name the baby?"

Alec gave her a look. "O.C. Have you ever heard the names Max gives people?"

"She gave you yours, hot boy."

"Exception to the rule," Alec waved it off as he tied his other shoe. "Max likes to name people like they're nouns or verbs or adjectives. Case in point -- Bullet, Zero, Bugler, Fix-It, Ralph -- well, okay, Ralph was my idea, but need I go on? With a track record like that, do you really think I'd trust Max to name my kid?"

Picking up his jacket, he headed for the door, but paused with his hand on the knob. "You might hear about some stuff on the news tonight," he warned. "And if anyone comes here askin' questions--"

"I can take care of myself, Alec," O.C. said, her voice for once serious.

"Don't let 'em bother Normal either," the X5 said. He glanced toward the bedroom. "And get Greta to the hospital. Some of the ordinaries can survive, if they get help in time."

"On it," O.C. assured him. "Don't worry. You just get your boy back. Strangle the info out of Logan if you have to."

"That's the plan," Alec said quietly as he closed the door.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

"Don't turn on the light," a voice said from the darkness.

Logan Cale's hand froze on the doorknob, his other slowly dropping back to his side from where he'd been reaching for the switch.

"Alec," he said quietly, instantly recognizing that smooth rich, vaguely taunting voice. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see into the gloom of the apartment, but couldn't spot the intruder. "Why are you here?"

"You know why." A shadow moved, and the tall graceful figure of the X5 emerged from the charcoal shrouded den like a cat leaving its lair. "Where's my son?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. And where are my men?" Logan glanced around ... saw legs sticking out from the bedroom and what might have been blood on the floor."

"Dead," Alec said calmly as he drifted to the window where the silver of a half-moon illuminated the smooth planes of his frighteningly calm, handsome face.

A chill ran down Cale's spine. "Max had the baby?" he tried.

"You know she did," that eerily emotionless voice replied. Hiking himself up on the window sill, 494 made himself comfortable -- as if they were simply two old friends having a little chat.

The chill turned to cold sweat. "And now the baby's been taken by someone?" Logan guessed.

Alec just stared at him, the green of his cat eyes glowing faintly inhuman in the dark.

Photo courtesy of Eyes Only

"Alec, I swear, I don't know anything about this," Logan tried, at the same time edging closer to his desk and the drawer that held a 9 millimeter automatic. It would be his only chance ...

"McKinley stole my son," Alec said, his voice now taking on an edge. "And you're McKinley's lap dog in his fight against the transgenics. You know where he is, Logan. Give him back, or I swear I will kill you right here, right now."

"Killing me won't help anything," Logan said.

Alec shrugged broad shoulders, the leather creaking in the silence of the room. "Maybe not. But it'll sure feel good."

"McKinley doesn't have the baby," Logan tried again. "I'd know if he did. We even discussed such a possibility -- a kidnapping -- and it was deemed too dangerous. If your child has been taken, it's by someone else, Alec."

Alec became very still, then slowly, he turned his head to stare out the window, perhaps thinking over what he'd just been told ... deciding what to do now ...

However, Logan wasn't going to wait for the X5 to make up his mind about anything. Lunging forward, he dug a hand into the right drawer of his desk. Fingers clasped the cold grip of the automatic, but when he turned around, gun in hand -- X5-494 was already on top of him.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

The sound of the gunshot was muffled, the barrel buried in flesh and cloth. Alec grunted, but otherwise gave no indication a bullet had just passed through his torso. His mind registered the fact he'd been wounded -- perhaps fatally so -- but he honestly didn't feel the pain ... not yet.

A twist and he had the gun ... tossed it aside ... then that same hand was around Logan Cale's neck.

"Where the hell is my kid!" the X5 roared in his nemesis' face. Gritting teeth against the pounding throb that was finally beginning at the site of the wound, Alec blinked several time to stay focused, spat blood on the floor, and tried again. "Where did McKinley take our baby?"

"I. Don't. Know," Cale swore. "Kill me if you want to because of Max ... but don't kill me for something I haven't done! Remember too, we were friends once, Alec. Before you stole my girl ... before you decided I was the enemy. We used to help each other. I even saved your life once, and now look at us." The older man gestured feebly toward the blood that was rapidly soaking the X5's t-shirt. "Let me go. Get yourself some medical help. Then look elsewhere for your son because I swear to God he's not here ... that McKinley didn't take him."

And suddenly ... X5-494 knew he was in trouble -- not because he was sick as a dog and losing blood at an alarming rate, but because he found himself actually believing Logan Cale. However, if McKinley didn't his son ... then who did?

"Think, Alec," Logan rasped, both of his hands now trying to pry the fingers of the supersoldier from his throat. "Why would we take him anyway?"

"Revenge," Alec growled, a thin trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth ... staining perfect white teeth red ...

"Not my style," Logan swore. "Or McKinley's either. We might have taken the kid as leverage ... that was the original discussion ... but like I said, we abandoned the idea. You've got more enemies than just the Familiars, Alec ... more than just me. That baby is somewhere else, and if you die here tonight no one's ever going to find him."

Alec hated it -- but what Cale said was the truth. He could sense it in an uncanny gut way. Releasing the choke hold, he reared back and delivered a single precise blow to Logan's face, knocking the cyberjournalist out cold. Then, bracing himself with one hand on the corner of a desk, breathing heavily, the X5 slowly straightened, his other hand clutching his badly bleeding side.

His motorcycle was parked at the bottom of the back stairs. He was done here. All he could do now was limp back to O.C.'s, get patched up, and head home in defeat. Head hanging, the world slightly spinning, Alec took a step toward the door -- and suddenly found himself falling as a hand snagged his ankle.

He hit the floor hard, turned over painfully, and found himself staring straight down the barrel of Logan's 9 millimeter.

Black eye already swelling shut, Eyes Only regarded him with a ruthless grin. "And here's where it ends, Alec," Logan hissed as his finger tightened on the trigger. "She's mine."

Paralyzed with blood loss, fever, and pain, Alec could only wait for the bullet.

"Logan!" a woman's voice shrieked from across the room.

Logan Cale stared toward the door as if seeing a ghost. Twisting his head around, Alec, too, gaped at the doorway where an impossible figure stood. Dressed in black leather ... hands on hips ... raven hair without a trace of grey cascading around her shoulders ... fiery brown eyes flashing ... X5-452 owned the room, the two men who loved her mere acolytes to their priestess' power.

"Max?" Alec said, choking on her name and still not quite believing what he was seeing. "But you're--"

"Here to save your ass," she said with a wicked little smile. "Put down the gun, Logan. No one has to die here today. But you know what I'll do if you kill him."

"But how--?" Alec tried.

"I got better," Max simply said. "Those good genes of mine I guess, plus a little of Henry Bruster's magic elixir in my veins."

"The baby's not here," Alec said, propping himself up on one arm even as he realized there was a sizable pool of blood on the floor beneath him. "They don't have him."

She pinned Logan with a piercing gaze.

"Believe him," Logan said, setting the gun carefully aside. "I know nothing, Max. If I did, I'd tell you. I could never deny you your son, even if you did conceive him with another man."

"Alec," Max said in a suddenly smaller sounding voice as she held out a hand. "Come with me. We're leaving."

With more strength than he thought he still had, Alec dragged himself to his feet using the furniture as a support even as blood trickled down his left leg and squished inside his shoe. But it was no use ...

"Max--" he said, the room suddenly spinning wildly as a roaring sound began in his ears. "I don't think I can--" His strength deserting him completely at last, the X5 pitched forward as the world suddenly went completely black.

*****

"You're gonna be fine, Medium Fella," a gentle voice crooned in his ear, even as long fingers stroked his hair and the faint odor of dog tickled Alec's nostrils.

"He's coming around," another voice said ... Luke?

Alec could tell he was in a moving vehicle, the hum of tires and engine ... the faint jolt of road ... unmistakable. "What happened?" he mumbled, reaching up and touching the flannel of Joshua's shirt.

"What happened is Max rescued your sorry ass," Mole said from the driver's seat of the van. "You lost a lot of blood, but otherwise you got lucky -- no vital organs hit."

"Although, you've got a touch of that Snake Cult bug I'm afraid," Luke added. "Your temp's a hundred six, but if it was gonna kill you, you'd be sicker by now."

"Max!" Alec said, suddenly remembering.

"Right here," she said softly in his ear. Turning slightly, the X5 realized she was lying on a blanket next to him on the floor of the van, her arm wrapped protectively around his waist.

"I don't understand," he tried. "Logan was ... Damn! The bastard shot me!"

"I know," Max said gently. "But don't worry about it. He can't hurt us now."

"You killed him?" Alec asked, not quite believing that.

"No," Max replied quickly. "I left him tied up in his apartment, then carried you downstairs where the guys were waiting for me in the van." She forestalled his next question. "Hampton's on your bike riding shotgun. We'll be back at the base before dawn. But Logan's not the problem, Alec. I believe him when he says the Familiars don't have our son. I don't know why ... but I do."

"So do I," Alec admitted, hoping he wasn't going to be sick on his stomach. "Max," he whispered. "We never even gave him his name."

"We will, Alec," she assured him, although her eyes held less conviction than her voice. "We'll find our son, and hold him in our arms, and call him by his name."

He wished he could believe her.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

Alec had figured out a long time ago that if a wound didn't kill him, he usually healed just fine -- all those good X5 genetics at work.

Luke fussed over him back at base, and insisted on a blood transfusion (Hampton stepping up as a donor). However, the bullet had gone cleanly through muscle and fatty tissue, luckily not nicking the intestine and therefore avoiding infection.

From his cot in the infirmary -- one adjacent to Max's where she was receiving the last I.V. infusion of DNA material that would finish her progeria cure -- Alec looked ruefully at his mate, Mole, Joshua, and Donald Lydecker. "It could have gone better," he said, berating himself. "I've only got Logan's word that the Cult doesn't have our kid."

"Stendahl doesn't have the boy," Lydecker said in a gruff voice. "Jack sent a communique via our back channels like we told him to. He's keeping a close watch on his step father and he's positive Davis isn't involved." The Colonel grinned ruthlessly. "I've got to admit it's nice having a little inside information regarding the cyborg outfit for a change. They have no idea their computer core has been tapped into."

Alec's bare shoulders slumped, the bandage around his middle feeling irritatingly hot and too tight. Working a finger beneath the gauze, he ignored Luke's nasty stare. "Well who has him then?" he said, his eyes touching on each of his friends.

Joshua's big shrug seemed to sum everything up. None of them had a clue.

Henry Bruster entered the room -- his rumpled suit, bow tie, and owlish eyes behind thick spectacles reminiscent of Alec's New York sojourn -- and went quietly to Max where he checked the volume in the I.V. bag. Then he glanced over at Alec. "You look like shit," he said cheerfully.

"So do you, but I'll heal," Alec deadpanned.

Mole grinned, and so did Max.

"Yes," Henry said. "You'll heal just fine, and Max is almost fully recovered. Whatever neurological damage happened due to her stroke seems to have resolved as well. It just took time. You X5s really are 'the boss' when it comes to pleuropotent regeneration capabilities. Makes you guys pretty much indestructible unless the system failure is completely catastrophic." His eyes went to Alec's bandaged side. "As caused by a bullet tearing through your gut."

Thank God for small favors, Alec silently thought. Max did, indeed, look almost like her old self again, her dark hair shiny, her skin smooth, and the light back in her eyes. If only they weren't so filled with worry about the baby ...

"Okay," Max said quietly. "So our two major big bads aren't the kidnappers. Any other candidates?"

"Sandeman," Alec had to say.

"He's dead," Max replied.

"Are we sure?"

No one said anything, and Alec brushed hair out of his eyes and once more shook his head in frustration. Then, he did the only thing he could think of. He reached across the open space between their beds and took hold of Max's hand in his.

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

He waited until well past "lights out" on the base ... when the barracks windows were all dark and only the routine sentries prowled the perimeter. No one saw the stealthy figure keeping to the shadows as it made its way to a small hatchway in the side of the mountain -- an access to the miles of service tunnels that penetrated deep beneath the Gillette facility where a network of steam pipes and electrical conduits circulated the lifeblood of the base.

Closing and locking the door behind him, the man began his descent, his way lit only by infrequent (and often burned out) red emergency lights. There were times he had to use his flashlight ... times he had to wade through standing water ... times he had to be careful not to touch exposed circuitry dangling from gaping holes in the natural rock walls.

He walked for almost half an hour, slowly making his way into the belly of the mountain, way past the outer hallways where any of the transgenics had ever explored. At last he came to a series of six more hatchways in the wall, each sealed with a circular handle and coded with an electronic lock. He chose number four, punched in the numbers, then spun the handle. The heavy door opened with a groan of seldom-used hinges, then once again he began to descend, only this time via a set of carved stone steps far more ancient than the modern base above. The flashlight was a necessity now, lighting his way as the air around him began to press in, smelling of aged dust tinged with a whiff of mildew. His footsteps echoed hollowly, the sound vanishing into the blackness below, swallowed up by what looked to be a bottomless pit.

There were more than two thousand steps. He knew because he'd counted them once. It took him almost an hour to reach the bottom and the cracked wooden door that was covered with ancient Minoan symbols. A sliver of golden light shown beneath the panel -- a beacon beckoning to him.

He paused before entering, blinking bleary eyes, stealing himself for what he knew was on the other side. He hated himself at that moment ... for what he'd done ... and for what he was going to do.

But some things had to be. This really was the only way.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and lightly knocked, then pushed open the portal that led to his other world.

Asha Barlow -- her blouse unbuttoned and breasts exposed -- looked up as he entered, the tiny baby in her arms contentedly asleep with its bottle.

"Is everything all right?" Donald Lydecker asked quietly.

Doe-brown eyes rose to meet his, the innocence and trust in them unnatural ... drug induced ... "My son's doing fine," she said with a little girl's smile.

The Colonel smiled too in seeming fondness. "I told you your baby wasn't dead," he said. "I told you I'd bring him back to you."

Asha frowned slightly. "He's all better now," she said. "Before ... he wasn't right ... he wasn't breathing ... but now my little Ilya is just fine."

"You've named him 'Ilya'?" the Colonel said. "After your brother?"

"Yes," Asha replied, the little girl smile back once more as she lowered her head to inhale the scent of the baby's fine blond hair. "And I'm going to take good care of him."

"That's why you're here, Asha," Lydecker said. "To take care of this baby ... your baby ... until the time comes when both of you can be taken to a safer place where Ilya will grow up to be a strong soldier."

"Who'll serve his country," Asha said, nodding as she seemed to be reciting doctrine. "I know my baby's special because 494's the father. Alec's an X5, and so is Ilya."

"Yes," Lydecker agreed, coming closer to look down at the sleeping infant who was perfect in every way -- a far cry from the dead deformed child Asha had really given birth to months before.

"Won't his father want to see him, though?" Asha asked, the enlarged pupils of her eyes wells of pathos in the dim light of the room that had been her home all these weeks -- a nest where Lydecker had kept her hidden while gently nudging her madness along so she would serve his purpose.

"That's not the Manticore way, Asha," Donald explained patiently. "You know that. X5 babies are very special, but they have to be raised apart from their fathers so they'll grow to be strong on their own. Alec knows that he's sired a son. But he also knows that the child now belongs to his country. 494's an exceptional soldier. He can accept this ... knows it's for the best."

Asha clutched the baby more closely to her bare breast, pinching a nipple, trying to coax him to nurse. She frowned when no milk came, then with a sigh once more gave the infant its bottle.

"The hormones will kick in soon," Lydecker assured her. "You'll soon be able to feed your son yourself."

"But you'll take him away from me one day, won't you?" the blonde girl whispered, her voice suddenly fearful.

Lydecker smiled indulgently. "Don't worry about that, Asha. A baby needs its mother for a long, long time. No one is going to take Ilya away from you. Not so long as you care for him so well." He reached into his pocket and took out a hypodermic syringe. "It's time for your medication," he said.

Her pretty lips pursed in a scowl, Asha nevertheless extended an arm. "This will make you stop worrying," Lydecker assured her. "All you have to do is think about your baby ... your child and Alec's... and take care of him. It's your purpose in life now, Asha. And one day ... if you're a very good girl ... you'll be giving Ilya a brother or a sister, another child sired by the man you love."

"I'll be making another baby with Alec?" Asha said, brightening perceptibly and forgetting all about the needle prick on her arm.

"Definitely," Donald said gruffly. "Most definitely." He held out his big rough hands. "Let me see Ilya, Asha."

Fearful -- but obeying -- Asha handed the child to the older man. Cradling the little one to his chest in an oddly paternal manner, Lydecker smile down into innocent green and gold eyes. He could already tell this one was going to resemble his father ... Then he gently turned the infant's head to check the bar code on the back of its neck -- X5-0001 -- the tattoo already quite visible even though the DNA coded retrovirus carrying the designation had only been administered the night before.

Manticore reborn.

*****

In a room adjacent to the living quarters he'd arranged for Asha and the child, Lydecker picked up the mic of the radio set, tuned the dial, and spoke: "This is Manticore One to base," he said. "Repeat, Manticore one to Base."

Come in Manticore One.

"The package is secure. Repeat, the package is secure. Can transport be arranged within a week?"

Roger that, Manticore One. Congratulations on a job well done, 'Deck. You'll be rewarded. Transportation arrangements are underway. Just keep the kid hidden until we can bring him to the main complex.

"The sire and damn aren't going to stop looking for him, you know," Lydecker spoke into the mic, his voice tinged with sadness.

We knew that from the beginning.You know what to do if 494 and 452 begin to get too close to the truth.

"They're too valuable to kill," the Colonel protested. "Our program is still in its infancy. We don't have surrogate technology yet. We can't afford to throw away two mature fertile X5s at this point. 494 and 452 are the best of the best, their DNA nearly perfect. If nothing else they'll breed again and produce more children."

You have your orders, Colonel. If either of the parents begin to suspect the truth -- that Manticore is being recreated through their offspring -- you're to take decisive measures. Besides, 452 has contracted progeria. Her participation as a breeder is in question.

"Max's progeria is completely reversed," Lydecker said sharply. "It's a problem with the thoroughbreds we've always known about ... a risk we've always been willing to take."

You have your orders, Colonel. The child will be transported soon. In the meantime, remain vigilant and make certain no one at the base begins to suspect.

"Roger," Lydecker said with a huge sigh as he looked back over his shoulder through the doorway to the pitiful insane woman holding Max and Alec's son in her arms. "And out."

*****

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.Org

Max, her breasts swollen and sore with un-sucked milk, perched atop the guard tower, arms encircling knees as she sat on the floor and peered out at the night. It wasn't the Space Needle by any means -- but it was the closest thing to solitude she could manage.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," she said, not needing to turn around to know it was Alec's stealthy tread she'd heard behind her.

Stifling a groan, her mate lowered himself to the wooden floor beside her, crossing legs Indian-style. "I know," he said. "But I wanted to be with you."

"How'd you know where I was?"

A shrug. "'Cause I know you."

The tiniest of smiles played on Max's full lips. "Sometimes I think you almost do know me," she said quietly.

"I'll take that as a compliment." He waited a beat. Then -- "We'll find him, Max. It's just going to take some time."

Max looked down ruefully at the most front of her t-shirt where milk had leaked through and soaked her bra. "Dr. Carr wants to give me a shot to dry this up," she said, tears rising in her throat. "But I don't want to. I want to feed my baby."

A warm strong arm wrapped around her slender shoulders. Holding her close to a body still hot with fever, Alec bowed his head, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry, Max," he whispered huskily -- words eerily reminiscent of another long ago moment between the two of them. "I'm so, so sorry."

The End