skylar0grace (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skylar0grace) wrote2010-02-07 09:37 pm
skylar0grace) wrote2010-02-07 09:37 pm
Entry tags:
Road To Discovery (DA)
Title: Road To Discovery
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Multi-Chaptered.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Sometimes the thing you’re looking for is right in front of your face.
Spoilers: Set after Freak Nation so all of them
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and all related elements belong to Cameron Eglee Productions and FOX. No infringement intended.
Notes: Okay, so this is the first DA fic I worked on and is old in terms of my writing style. One day I'll get around to redoing it but until then, you can all check out what I was originally doing :)
Logan turned away and moved behind the transgenics in the med bay. He glanced up to see Sam looking straight at him. It was still weird how eerily similar they were. Had he not known Max was lying in the hospital bed, he would have thought she was standing beside him in the waiting area. He saw the other transgenics move away from the door, some sitting in the available chairs, others standing, but all silent.
He had come into TC after hearing about the mission that went sideways. He had overheard some X6’s talking outside about it: that Alec had given himself up to White to save the unit he was with and that Max had gone in after him. None of that surprised him. Alec had proven that he could sometimes be reliable and trustworthy and despite Max’s constant consternations, Logan suspected he had always been that way; that the rest had been a façade. That is probably why he had so readily believed the lie that Max was seeing Alec and why Logan had always seen the X5 as a threat.
What did surprise him though was that Max had filled her bag with explosives and traded herself in to White; blowing up the building, herself included, when the deal had been made. To Logan it was just careless. He would have thought Max would have gotten a team together like she usually did. Staked the place out and stormed it, rescuing Alec in the process.
He had arrived just after the rest of her siblings. Apparently Jondy had called them, letting them know she had woken. Kellie had been telling them that Max had woken up and that it was a good sign but she hadn’t been able to ascertain the situation for herself yet. Logan had started to make a move for her room, only to be stopped by Krit and Zane. They told him that Alec was in there and that the two had some issues to discuss.
Logan had frowned and been prepared to pass them anyway when he had heard yelling coming from the room, though instead of the usual ‘Max rant’ about Alec’s mistakes, it seemed to be an ‘Alec rant’ about Max’s mistakes. Logan had shown he wouldn’t push through but had remained at the door, watching the two yell at each other. He couldn’t quite hear what they were saying but he watched them.
When Alec had leaned over, intimately close to Max, Logan had felt anger and jealousy. His only thought was that Max would be as furious as he was about Alec invading her personal space. He waited for the slap or push; anything really. But it never came. Instead, Logan saw her raise her hand and place it on his cheek, closing her eyes. It was then that the pit of his stomach dropped and he knew for certain that he had lost her. Truthfully, he had suspected it for some time. He turned away and replayed his memories of Max, tracing them back as far as her return from Manticore with Alec by her side, wondering where along the way he had lost her. Logan looked back to the first moment he met the younger man and wondered if had ever really had her. He turned to Sam.
“Would you please tell her that I am glad she is feeling better, that I hope she gets well soon,” Logan asked politely.
Sam looked momentarily shocked and without looking around, she knew each transgenic in the room was listening. She instead opted for nodding mutely.
“I’m going to return to work. You don’t need to tell her I stopped by; just let her know I will contact her if I get any new information,” Logan said almost mechanically.
Sam had felt the shift in the room. The hostility that radiated from every transgenic in the room upon hearing Logan speak only seconds before had dissipated upon hearing that last request. She realised, as she was sure the others had too, that Logan was really letting Max go this time.
Sam nodded as she watched Logan’s shoulders slump slightly. He gave her a tight smile, the meaning understood, and turned to walk out the door. For some unknown reason, she felt the need to reassure him of Max’s faithfulness.
“If it helps, I don’t think either of them knew this would happen,” she said. Logan stopped but didn’t turn around.
“It doesn’t,” he said simply and walked out the door.
~
“Why did you do it?” he asked again, pulling away from her and instantly missing her warmth. “And don’t tell me it was the best plan at the time. Syl told me that you didn’t even listen to any other plans.”
Max thought. Had she? She didn’t remember asking for their ideas, but she didn’t remember them desperately trying to throw them out either.
“I did what I thought would work. I know now it seems crazy,” she said. Alec sighed. “But I knew that the success rate of the mission was high. I needed to get you out of there and I knew that would work.” Alec looked up at her.
“Max, you could have taken a team,” he countered. She frowned at him.
“It would have taken too long,” Max stated.
“You could have done recon, taken a few units and stormed the place.”
“You could have been dead by then; I could have lost the units in the battle,” Max said frustrated. It seemed like she was saying the same thing over and over again.
“But you went in alone.”
“It was what White wanted. It was the only way to get you out without a huge loss of life,” Max said, raising her voice slightly.
“But you nearly lost your life,” Alec pressed.
“It didn’t matter!” Max yelled, “The objective was to get you out alive.”
“What if I was dead?” Alec asked.
“You weren’t. I would have known. And even if you were, I would have blown the C4 anyway.”
Alec raised an eyebrow. “Why?” he questioned.
“Because I…”
Max snapped her mouth shut. Her thoughts ran through her head in a jumbled mess. Alec reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Max unconsciously leaned into his palm.
“Tell me,” he asked softly.
Max closed her eyes and leaned further into the hand now cupping her cheek. A single tear slipped down her face.
“I wouldn’t want to lose you,” Max said finally.
She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her. He seemed to be searching her eyes for something. He leaned over and stopped just centimetres in front of her face.
“I am going to give you an out,” he said softly.
Max just blinked. He leaned further in and captured her lips in a soft kiss. It only took Max a couple of seconds and she reached up and pulled his face in closer, crushing his lips with hers. He responded briefly before pulling away from her.
“Max?” he questioned.
He was afraid she would run; most likely emotionally but possibly physically as well. She looked back at him.
“You’re in love with me,” she stated.
“Yes, I am,” he replied. His training was screaming ‘retreat!’, was yelling at him for leaving himself open and vulnerable.
“How long?” she asked. He took a deep breath and looked at his hands.
“Always,” he answered, looking up at her face. She seemed to consider his answer thoughtfully and he wondered, not for the first time, what exactly was going through her head.
“Why did you want to know the reasoning behind my plan?” she asked. Alec felt like he had dug a hole and was now filling it in on himself.
“Sam told me that you weren’t yourself. She said that you didn’t go after your 2IC; you went after your mate. I needed to know if that was true,” Alec said, watching her face. Max’s brow furrowed.
“But we didn’t mate,” she said confused.
Alec sighed. He knew this conversation would come up one way or the other. He once again kicked himself for not being prepared for it
“I know, which makes it worse.” Max frowned and Alec elaborated.
“Max, mating is for life. It brings a connection that is unbreakable. Back at Manticore, it was rare. Couples were either separated, tortured or killed. They couldn’t work together because they always put their mate above the mission. We can’t do that. I’ve tried really hard not to love you but the harder I tried, the more I fell in love with you. It was fine because as long as it was just my life I was risking, it wouldn’t matter. I could never hurt you Max; I’ve always held back, even before I realised I was doing it. But we are leading a city in a war that could last our lifetimes. We can’t afford mistakes and more importantly, I can’t lose you. Tactically, I should’ve left when you first asked me to and stayed away. But you’re my other half and even if I am never yours, my life would have been empty without you as a friend. I should’ve gone but I couldn’t physically make myself.”
He shifted in his seat. “Either way, we need to talk about what happened with this mission.”
She tilted her head and looked deep in thought. The silence stretched out and Alec was considering the best retreat options. Max sighed.
“She was right.”
“Huh?”
“She was right. I did go after my mate. I can’t explain it any other way. And I don’t think I want to.” Alec stared at her. “I don’t know where or when but along the way somewhere, I fell in love with you. I do know that I can’t live without you now and I don’t think I’ve been able to for a long time.”
Alec stood. “See, this is dangerous. You can’t risk your life for mine.”
“It would destroy you wouldn’t it?” Max asked softly. Alec sat back down.
“Yes, it really would,” he said honestly.
“Now you know how I feel.” Max looked him straight in the eye. “Look, we can’t worry about what will happen when the moment comes. The moment is here. The question is: what are you gonna do about it?”
Alec looked at her and she watched flashes of emotions sweep across his face. Suddenly he leapt forward and kissed her, putting all of the emotion he felt into that one kiss. She kissed him back, her fingers making their way into his hair and pulling him closer. He stood and sat on the edge of her bed, allowing her to lean back into her pillows as they kissed. She sighed into his kiss and she felt him smile against her lips. Max whimpered slightly as Alec moved away from her and sat back in his chair. She pouted.
“Max, we’re in the med bay.”
Max looked into his eyes. “So?”
Alec smiled. “Max, I love you, but Kellie has been waiting out there since you woke up to check your progress. And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every one of your siblings at one stage or another.”
Max had a huge, genuine smile on her face. “What?”
“I love you too,” she said, pulling him in for another kiss.
~
Outside the room, Max’s sibling sat around the room in various chairs. Jondy moved away from the door with a huge smile on her face. The others looked at her expectantly.
“Finally!” she said as she sat down. They all smiled and Syl laughed.
“You know it’s gonna be a while before we see her don’t you?” Syl said looking around the room. Some smiled in response as Zane groaned. “Hey, at least they got a happy ending right?”
Jondy turned around to face her. “No, it’s a happy beginning,” she said with a small laugh, causing Zane to groan again. “It’s a happy beginning.”
~Fin.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Multi-Chaptered.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Sometimes the thing you’re looking for is right in front of your face.
Spoilers: Set after Freak Nation so all of them
Disclaimer: Dark Angel and all related elements belong to Cameron Eglee Productions and FOX. No infringement intended.
Notes: Okay, so this is the first DA fic I worked on and is old in terms of my writing style. One day I'll get around to redoing it but until then, you can all check out what I was originally doing :)
Logan turned away and moved behind the transgenics in the med bay. He glanced up to see Sam looking straight at him. It was still weird how eerily similar they were. Had he not known Max was lying in the hospital bed, he would have thought she was standing beside him in the waiting area. He saw the other transgenics move away from the door, some sitting in the available chairs, others standing, but all silent.
He had come into TC after hearing about the mission that went sideways. He had overheard some X6’s talking outside about it: that Alec had given himself up to White to save the unit he was with and that Max had gone in after him. None of that surprised him. Alec had proven that he could sometimes be reliable and trustworthy and despite Max’s constant consternations, Logan suspected he had always been that way; that the rest had been a façade. That is probably why he had so readily believed the lie that Max was seeing Alec and why Logan had always seen the X5 as a threat.
What did surprise him though was that Max had filled her bag with explosives and traded herself in to White; blowing up the building, herself included, when the deal had been made. To Logan it was just careless. He would have thought Max would have gotten a team together like she usually did. Staked the place out and stormed it, rescuing Alec in the process.
He had arrived just after the rest of her siblings. Apparently Jondy had called them, letting them know she had woken. Kellie had been telling them that Max had woken up and that it was a good sign but she hadn’t been able to ascertain the situation for herself yet. Logan had started to make a move for her room, only to be stopped by Krit and Zane. They told him that Alec was in there and that the two had some issues to discuss.
Logan had frowned and been prepared to pass them anyway when he had heard yelling coming from the room, though instead of the usual ‘Max rant’ about Alec’s mistakes, it seemed to be an ‘Alec rant’ about Max’s mistakes. Logan had shown he wouldn’t push through but had remained at the door, watching the two yell at each other. He couldn’t quite hear what they were saying but he watched them.
When Alec had leaned over, intimately close to Max, Logan had felt anger and jealousy. His only thought was that Max would be as furious as he was about Alec invading her personal space. He waited for the slap or push; anything really. But it never came. Instead, Logan saw her raise her hand and place it on his cheek, closing her eyes. It was then that the pit of his stomach dropped and he knew for certain that he had lost her. Truthfully, he had suspected it for some time. He turned away and replayed his memories of Max, tracing them back as far as her return from Manticore with Alec by her side, wondering where along the way he had lost her. Logan looked back to the first moment he met the younger man and wondered if had ever really had her. He turned to Sam.
“Would you please tell her that I am glad she is feeling better, that I hope she gets well soon,” Logan asked politely.
Sam looked momentarily shocked and without looking around, she knew each transgenic in the room was listening. She instead opted for nodding mutely.
“I’m going to return to work. You don’t need to tell her I stopped by; just let her know I will contact her if I get any new information,” Logan said almost mechanically.
Sam had felt the shift in the room. The hostility that radiated from every transgenic in the room upon hearing Logan speak only seconds before had dissipated upon hearing that last request. She realised, as she was sure the others had too, that Logan was really letting Max go this time.
Sam nodded as she watched Logan’s shoulders slump slightly. He gave her a tight smile, the meaning understood, and turned to walk out the door. For some unknown reason, she felt the need to reassure him of Max’s faithfulness.
“If it helps, I don’t think either of them knew this would happen,” she said. Logan stopped but didn’t turn around.
“It doesn’t,” he said simply and walked out the door.
~
“Why did you do it?” he asked again, pulling away from her and instantly missing her warmth. “And don’t tell me it was the best plan at the time. Syl told me that you didn’t even listen to any other plans.”
Max thought. Had she? She didn’t remember asking for their ideas, but she didn’t remember them desperately trying to throw them out either.
“I did what I thought would work. I know now it seems crazy,” she said. Alec sighed. “But I knew that the success rate of the mission was high. I needed to get you out of there and I knew that would work.” Alec looked up at her.
“Max, you could have taken a team,” he countered. She frowned at him.
“It would have taken too long,” Max stated.
“You could have done recon, taken a few units and stormed the place.”
“You could have been dead by then; I could have lost the units in the battle,” Max said frustrated. It seemed like she was saying the same thing over and over again.
“But you went in alone.”
“It was what White wanted. It was the only way to get you out without a huge loss of life,” Max said, raising her voice slightly.
“But you nearly lost your life,” Alec pressed.
“It didn’t matter!” Max yelled, “The objective was to get you out alive.”
“What if I was dead?” Alec asked.
“You weren’t. I would have known. And even if you were, I would have blown the C4 anyway.”
Alec raised an eyebrow. “Why?” he questioned.
“Because I…”
Max snapped her mouth shut. Her thoughts ran through her head in a jumbled mess. Alec reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Max unconsciously leaned into his palm.
“Tell me,” he asked softly.
Max closed her eyes and leaned further into the hand now cupping her cheek. A single tear slipped down her face.
“I wouldn’t want to lose you,” Max said finally.
She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her. He seemed to be searching her eyes for something. He leaned over and stopped just centimetres in front of her face.
“I am going to give you an out,” he said softly.
Max just blinked. He leaned further in and captured her lips in a soft kiss. It only took Max a couple of seconds and she reached up and pulled his face in closer, crushing his lips with hers. He responded briefly before pulling away from her.
“Max?” he questioned.
He was afraid she would run; most likely emotionally but possibly physically as well. She looked back at him.
“You’re in love with me,” she stated.
“Yes, I am,” he replied. His training was screaming ‘retreat!’, was yelling at him for leaving himself open and vulnerable.
“How long?” she asked. He took a deep breath and looked at his hands.
“Always,” he answered, looking up at her face. She seemed to consider his answer thoughtfully and he wondered, not for the first time, what exactly was going through her head.
“Why did you want to know the reasoning behind my plan?” she asked. Alec felt like he had dug a hole and was now filling it in on himself.
“Sam told me that you weren’t yourself. She said that you didn’t go after your 2IC; you went after your mate. I needed to know if that was true,” Alec said, watching her face. Max’s brow furrowed.
“But we didn’t mate,” she said confused.
Alec sighed. He knew this conversation would come up one way or the other. He once again kicked himself for not being prepared for it
“I know, which makes it worse.” Max frowned and Alec elaborated.
“Max, mating is for life. It brings a connection that is unbreakable. Back at Manticore, it was rare. Couples were either separated, tortured or killed. They couldn’t work together because they always put their mate above the mission. We can’t do that. I’ve tried really hard not to love you but the harder I tried, the more I fell in love with you. It was fine because as long as it was just my life I was risking, it wouldn’t matter. I could never hurt you Max; I’ve always held back, even before I realised I was doing it. But we are leading a city in a war that could last our lifetimes. We can’t afford mistakes and more importantly, I can’t lose you. Tactically, I should’ve left when you first asked me to and stayed away. But you’re my other half and even if I am never yours, my life would have been empty without you as a friend. I should’ve gone but I couldn’t physically make myself.”
He shifted in his seat. “Either way, we need to talk about what happened with this mission.”
She tilted her head and looked deep in thought. The silence stretched out and Alec was considering the best retreat options. Max sighed.
“She was right.”
“Huh?”
“She was right. I did go after my mate. I can’t explain it any other way. And I don’t think I want to.” Alec stared at her. “I don’t know where or when but along the way somewhere, I fell in love with you. I do know that I can’t live without you now and I don’t think I’ve been able to for a long time.”
Alec stood. “See, this is dangerous. You can’t risk your life for mine.”
“It would destroy you wouldn’t it?” Max asked softly. Alec sat back down.
“Yes, it really would,” he said honestly.
“Now you know how I feel.” Max looked him straight in the eye. “Look, we can’t worry about what will happen when the moment comes. The moment is here. The question is: what are you gonna do about it?”
Alec looked at her and she watched flashes of emotions sweep across his face. Suddenly he leapt forward and kissed her, putting all of the emotion he felt into that one kiss. She kissed him back, her fingers making their way into his hair and pulling him closer. He stood and sat on the edge of her bed, allowing her to lean back into her pillows as they kissed. She sighed into his kiss and she felt him smile against her lips. Max whimpered slightly as Alec moved away from her and sat back in his chair. She pouted.
“Max, we’re in the med bay.”
Max looked into his eyes. “So?”
Alec smiled. “Max, I love you, but Kellie has been waiting out there since you woke up to check your progress. And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every one of your siblings at one stage or another.”
Max had a huge, genuine smile on her face. “What?”
“I love you too,” she said, pulling him in for another kiss.
~
Outside the room, Max’s sibling sat around the room in various chairs. Jondy moved away from the door with a huge smile on her face. The others looked at her expectantly.
“Finally!” she said as she sat down. They all smiled and Syl laughed.
“You know it’s gonna be a while before we see her don’t you?” Syl said looking around the room. Some smiled in response as Zane groaned. “Hey, at least they got a happy ending right?”
Jondy turned around to face her. “No, it’s a happy beginning,” she said with a small laugh, causing Zane to groan again. “It’s a happy beginning.”
~Fin.