Fic: All the King's Horses and All the King's Men (DA, Alec/Logan, R) [Part 1 of 2]

[alyse]

Title: All the King's Horses and All the King's Men
Author: alyse
Pairing: Alec/Logan
Word Count: ~17,600
Rating: Hard R (for non-explicit sex)
Warning: None
Spoilers: Set post Season 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or its characters. I'm just borrowing them and will put them back, possibly a little more worn than they were before.

Author's notes: Written for feline_feral for the Summer jam_pony_fic Ficathon. Prompt used was Alec having seizures and Logan helping him through it.. Lyrics quoted are from either Downfall or Unwell, both by Matchbox Twenty. They fit.

Thanks to davechicken for the quick and dirty beta that enabled me to - just - slip it under the wire. ::smooch::

Summary: Logan had grown used to the quiet in the evenings, but that was before he took a sharp left into Surrealsville, population two.

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All day
Staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall

---

By now Logan had grown used to the silence in the evenings. During those first few wretched weeks after he'd had to leave Terminal City - the tainted air finally proving too much for his ordinary blood - it had been the evenings that had been the worst. During the day, he managed to keep busy - although 'keeping busy' wasn't the description he'd have picked to describe his work as Eyes Only - but the evenings had stretched out into an eternity, the void left by Max's absence looming large and empty.

It was understandable - before the Jam Pony siege, she'd been a more or less constant presence in his life, whether she was physically with him or not. Even when she'd been avoiding him, there had still been the possibility that she'd shown up unannounced - lured by the promise of free food as much as the need for his help and always with a smile for him, one that lit up the night.

Those visits were long past, with her barricaded from the city that they'd both lived in and with a city of her own to run instead, and it was the absence of that hope that had been the hardest thing to bear. There were times when he wondered whether he'd ever see more of her than the grainy feed from his webcam, when the distance between them shadowed her eyes and muted her smile. Recently, he'd cut down even those small, brief contacts, too worried about the connections being spotted and cut off, isolating the transgenics even further from an outside world that didn't care about them. Or so he told himself, his heart aching in his chest every time he had to cut the connection and watch her face fade. But Logan was, at heart, a pragmatist. So he kept busy during the day, and in the evenings he grew used to the silence.

This time she wasn't dead. After that, almost anything was bearable.

He established a routine, one that was easy to fall into simply because it was so familiar. The equipment here, in what he still thought of as Joshua's place, had been salvaged from scrap yards and abandoned offices by transgenics getting used to making do rather than purchased cash in hand, which couldn't be traced back to Logan Cale, playboy playing at journalist. It might be a little less robust than the set up he'd had back at his apartment - a little slower to deliver and with a host of quirks that he'd had to get used to - but the search strings were the same. And if he couldn't have as many windows open or multitask the way he could before White had tracked him down, well, he could always supplement them with some old fashioned paper and pencil. It beat sitting around, waiting for the CPU to finally deliver. That only gave him time to think.

He could do pragmatic and he could be adaptable. He'd learnt from the best.

He'd learnt caution from the same source, so when his silent evening was interrupted by a noise from the basement, it only took him a second to reach for the gun in his desk drawer. His grip on it was steady and while he didn't manage to be completely silent as he moved towards the stairs, it was close enough for Government work. Providing, of course, that the Government work wasn't genetically enhanced. There was some small part of him that hoped, still hoped, that maybe, just maybe...

He kept close to the wall, not wanting to be outlined against the upstairs lights as he moved down into the basement. No point in making himself more of a target than he needed to be - something else he'd picked up from hanging around genetically empowered super-soldiers. He had to assume that the noise he'd heard hadn't simply been the wind.

The wind was at least part of it. The basement window was swinging open, clattering with each bitter gust that blew in. But that window had been shut earlier and the wind outside, while cold, wasn't strong enough to break the lock and blow it open, not even when the window's wooden frame was rotten and warped with damp.

He stayed cautious, every sense straining for some hint of what waited for him below and keeping his footsteps as quiet as he could on the concrete floor as he edged forwards. His grip tightened around the handle of his weapon, but he kept it low, hidden in the folds of his pants' leg while his eyes adjusted to the dim light.

There was a form huddled up against the wall beneath the window, and his heart tripped, skipping a beat; he was already hurrying forward before he realised that it was too big to be Max and Max had surely never slumped so gracelessly.

It could be a bum, simply looking for shelter. It was plausible - there were too many homeless in Seattle, remnants of the meltdown after the pulse - but nothing in Logan's life was ever simple, and plausible was several zip codes away from most of the things that happened to him.

He stopped a few feet away, still keeping his weapon hidden. He was reluctant to use it, even if that proved necessary. Last thing he needed was to draw the attention of the sector police - or anyone else - with a gunshot, and this wasn't the kind of neighbourhood where gunshots were simply background noise. And if this was just some poor, homeless bastard, the last thing that Logan wanted to do was scare him.

The figure was male. Had to be, given the bulk and the shape of the limbs he could now see in the dim autumn light. There was nothing in that shape that spoke of femininity.

"Hey." The word came out hoarsely, more because he hadn't spoken in hours than from any fear. He cleared his throat, tried again when there was no response. "Hey, buddy. You need to find somewhere else to bed down for the night."

The figure finally moved, one foot scraping awkwardly along the floor as it - he - curled up into something approaching a foetal position. The noise set Logan's teeth on edge and his fingers tightened instinctively around the grip of his gun. There was a soft sound - not quite pain, but not far removed from it - and Logan found himself moving forward, also instinctively. He wasn't quite stupid enough to drop his guard entirely but he couldn't just stand by idle while someone -

Alec. It was Alec. Alec curled up on his basement floor, his face shadowed by the hood of his top. Even with that, even with the ambient light as dim as it was, Logan could see that Alec's eyes were closed, his face unusually pale.

"Alec? Damn it."

There was no sign of blood, nothing to indicate why the hell Alec would be crawling through his window instead of walking in through the door. Logan wasn't being watched, as far as he knew, and he'd grown triply paranoid with White on his tail. Which could only mean that whatever trouble had Alec sneaking in the back, it was something that Alec had brought with him.

He put the safety back on, shoving the gun into his pocket, but stayed just out of Alec's reach, instead edging around him to peer out through the window. The back alley outside was quiet and still; after watching for any movement for a few moments and seeing nothing, he dropped back down inside, out of view of anyone who might be hidden.

"Alec?"

He still kept his distance. He'd experienced enough of Manticore's tricks firsthand not to trust that Alec wasn't another one, at least not until he knew that Alec was Alec - maybe not even then. But it was difficult not to rush in when his mind was racing, coming up with one scenario after another and none of them good.

If Alec was here, where the hell was Max?

Alec was still non-responsive, although he was breathing steadily, his chest rising and falling. It might have been Logan's imagination, but the rhythm seemed a little fast, even for a transgenic. He risked edging closer, one hand reaching out and hovering over Alec's form, fingers curling into his palm when he forced himself to stop, go no further just in case.

Alec finally stirred, pulling his legs up further towards his chest. He was shivering now, Logan noticed, and small droplets of sweat had formed on his upper lip as though he was in the grip of a fever, although that couldn't be right. Transgenics didn't get sick, not that Logan knew. Alec's breathing caught, and Logan leant closer still, a small spike of concern going through him.

"Alec?"

Alec's eyes opened fractionally, thin slivers of green showing beneath lids that were worryingly translucent. His head turned slightly, as he met Logan's gaze.

"Hey. You okay? Alec?"

The sudden jerking of Alec's body took him by surprise, and he reared back automatically, toppling and falling onto the palms of his splayed hands. Alec's body had gone rigid, neck arched and corded as his heels drummed against the concrete floor.

"Shit!"

He scrabbled forward, too late to stop Alec's head impacting with the concrete the first time but managed to get one hand underneath before it could hit the floor again. Alec's head jerked back a third time, breath now whistling painfully between his teeth, and Logan hissed as the move scraped his knuckles against the concrete, the pain sharp and stinging.

"Alec. Hey."

He was lost, had no idea what the hell to do with someone in the midst of a seizure - he'd never seen Max like this. The one night he'd seen her suffering, she'd said something about hitting a rough patch that tryptophan took the edge off, but he'd no idea that it could get this bad. Were you supposed to put something in their mouth to prevent them biting their tongue, or was the risk of choking too great? He couldn't remember - it was one or the other and he had no idea which, not with Alec's body twitching underneath him, and Alec's eyes, open and panicked and aware staring into Logan's like, for once, he believed that Logan might actually have the answers.

All he could do - all he could think to do - was hold Alec as still as he could, using the weight of his body to pin him down, prevent him from injuring himself. And from injuring Logan - he was under no illusions that Alec's strength was greater than his by several factors and even an accidental swipe would pack a punch. For that reason he concentrated on keeping Alec from braining himself or snapping his spine, positioning himself near Alec's head and keeping out of the way of his thrashing legs. His transgenic enhanced healing would take care of any minor injuries, unlike Logan who wouldn't be that lucky.

It also meant that he could make sure that he held Alec's gaze as much as he could, keeping up a steady litany of soothing nonsense. It was nothing useful, nothing that would help because nothing could help, not really, but it couldn't hurt. If nothing else, it would remind Alec that he was there, that he wasn't going anywhere and it would all be okay if he - they - could just ride it out. Everything else would have to wait until the seizure was over - and that included figuring out what the hell Alec was doing here.

"Just... easy, Alec. Just ride it out. That's it. Be over soon..."

It was a lot of crap, but the spasms seemed to be easing slightly. It might have been Logan's imagination, primed by desperation, but he hoped to hell that they were easing - his arms and the backs of his thighs were aching and trembling with exhaustion, and he'd taken an elbow in the ribs that would bruise and be tender for days. Seemed that dealing with a seizing transgenics was a hell of a work out. Maybe he should suggest it to his old gym, the one he'd used back when he'd still moved in the circles he'd grown up in and before he was shot. After that he'd kept to his home gym - fewer questions and fewer pitying looks.

He squashed the giggles that rose up at the thought of a transgenic themed workout, knowing that they were the product of this whole nightmarish scenario, and tried to focus on the here and now instead. Alec's struggles were slowing, his eyes drifting shut while the shudders that racked his body grew less intense. Finally, they settled into tremors, the same tremors that Logan had mistaken for shivering at first.

He risked loosening his grip slightly, keeping Alec's head cradled in one palm, cushioned from the floor, just in case.

"Hey," he tried again, unable to completely mask the shakiness of his own voice, adrenaline and fear and exhaustion turning his limbs to water. "You with me now, buddy?"

Alec's eyes opened a fraction again, blinking several times before he seemed able to focus on Logan. "Fuck," he slurred, stretching out his still trembling limbs. The movement was sluggish, lacking any of Alec's normal grace, but he was there and conscious and at least partly coherent, which was more than Logan had been hopeful for.

The relief Logan felt at that surprised him. "You can say that again. Were you followed?" He hated to ask, not when Alec was still shivering and breathing in soft, painful gasps.

Alec blinked at him again, licking his lips as his gaze wandered away from Logan's face. "Um..." Maybe 'coherent' had been too much to ask for. "No..." It sounded tentative - too tentative for Logan's peace of mind. Maybe Alec got that somehow - revved up senses or something else - because his eyes snapped back to Logan's face and he swallowed, focused and said again, more definitely this time, "No."

Okay, one question down and several to go. Logan didn't bother to ask again - he wasn't a cruel man and no matter what bad blood there was between him and Alec, he wasn't going to hit the man when he was down.

"You got any tryptophan?"

"No. Left 'em wi' Max." Alec drew out Max's name, slurring that too, as he forced his wandering gaze back to Logan again. His face was still too pale, now shiny with sweat, and his hair - longer than Logan remembered, and curling around the ears and at the nape of his neck - was matted and tangled, darkened to brown from dirty blond.

"Okay, why would you do that?" Logan fought to keep the impatience from his voice - impatience and irritation both. "And where is Max? Alec?"

Again, Alec struggled to focus. "S'e needed 'em. S'ark... shark DNA. 'S a bitch."

"In TC? Max's in TC?"

"...s."

Christ. He'd let things slip, avoiding contacting TC. What he'd told himself was common sense, avoiding compromising the transgenics' only lines of communication in for personal reasons, had rebounded to bite him on the ass.

He'd been lying to himself. He could admit that now. He'd been avoiding Max. And Alec, not wanting to see the two of them happy. And because of that cowardice, he hadn't been there when they needed him.

How bad must it be in TC now that Alec felt he had to leave Max his tryptophan - leave it and venture out without it when he was seizing himself?

He was about to ask that very question when Alec's eyes rolled back up in his head. The spasms that shook his body this time were less violent, and were over more quickly, but Alec was still limp and wrung out at the end of them and Logan wasn't as convinced this time that the dampness on his face was all down to sweat.

"Alec? Alec, we need to get you upstairs. Can you move?"

It was painful to watch Alec trying to roll over, push himself up on arms that were visibly shaking, with exhaustion this time rather than tremors, or at least that was Logan's guess. He was torn between helping and not making things worse for Alec. He ended up with his hands hovering helplessly around Alec's body, waiting for Alec to finally give up and fall flat on his face again, ready to catch him if he did.

Somehow, Alec managed to make it upright, resting against the wall in a sitting position. It didn't look like he'd be able to make it all the way up, not yet.

"Wait here." He caught Alec's face in between his hands, forced Alec's eyes back to meet his, wanting to make sure that the message got through Alec's confusion - or maybe single mindedness. "I've got a few pills upstairs, I think. Kept a stash for Max in case she needed them. Alec, focus."

Alec's gaze snapped back to him, and for once what Alec felt wasn't hidden behind his normal mask of 'happy-go-lucky-sociopath'.

"...k."

"You going to fall flat on your face again if I leave you?"

A ghost of a smile crossed Alec's face, somehow more painful than the shuddering that had preceded it. "Thick... head..." he answered and Logan felt his own mouth curve in an answering smile. There was a graze on Alec's cheek where Logan hadn't been able to catch him fast enough - or maybe he'd got it crawling through the window - and it made him seem absurdly young, like a kid fallen off his bike.

But then Alec was young. He forgot that sometimes, taken in by the swagger Alec surrounded himself with.

"Stay here. I'll be back in a few, okay?"

Alec flapped a hand at him, the universal 'shooing' gesture, but it was uncoordinated and his eyes were already drifting shut again as he slumped back against the wall. Logan hesitated just long enough to make sure that he wasn't going to keel over before he headed up the stairs.

He did have some tryptophan, at the back of his medicine cabinet, behind the black market Tylenol. The container was only part full, and he counted the tablets out into his hand.

Sixteen. He had no idea how many Alec needed, but working on the principle that two of anything was usually the recommended dose, he put fourteen back, reluctant to give them all to Alec just in case. Just in case what, he didn't examine too closely - it felt selfish, and there was something twisting in his stomach that could have been the after effects of adrenaline or it could have been shame. He stared at the two in the palm of his hand for a moment, then shook out another two and shoved the bottle into the pocket of his sweats, where it rattled against the gun.

He swung by the kitchen, pouring half of the remaining milk into a glass, and headed back downstairs, taking them two at a time despite his aching legs.

Alec hadn't moved from where Logan had left him, still shaking and with his eyes still closed. He opened them as Logan approached; his expression was wary but his eyes were exhausted and pained. Logan didn't bother with any civilities this time, just held out his hand, the pills gleaming whitely in his palm.

Several painful and embarrassing seconds passed as he watched Alec try to pick them up with fingers that were still trembling. They were getting nowhere fast; he was too slow on the uptake, Alec's head slowly dipping down lower and lower after each attempt until Logan couldn't see his face and it finally dawned on him that Alec was humiliated, dignity gone out of the window. When it clicked, flooding him with shame again, he knelt back down next to Alec, his spine protesting, and held his hand up to Alec's mouth, pressing the tablets against the curve of Alec's lips so that he could swallow. It was a strangely intimate feeling, edging into embarrassment, and Logan ended up staring at the damp brick wall behind Alec's head, trying to spare him some of his remaining dignity at least.

Alec didn't seem to care - maybe to him this wasn't weird, or maybe it was weird but no weirder than anything else that he'd experienced since Manticore had burnt down. Maybe he just felt too shitty to worry about something as ephemeral as pride - it wasn't like Manticore had encouraged that feeling in the transgenics it had created. Logan had no idea - for all that Alec never stopped talking, he said very little, all smoke, mirrors and attitude. Most of the time Logan had very little idea about what was actually going on in Alec's head.

He had to help Alec wash them down with the milk too, misjudging the angle at first so that some escaped from the sides of the glass, running down Alec's chin as he gulped it down desperately. Logan ended up having to steady Alec's face as well as the glass, and this time he couldn't look away, not without risking choking the other man. The whole thing didn't make Alec seem any older; if anything he seemed even younger, almost fragile, although that was a word that Logan would never have dreamed of applying to Alec before.

Alec's cheek was warm against Logan's fingertips, and there were dark smudges under his eyes, shadowed by the long sweep of his eyelashes. Logan had to check the impulse to press his hand against Alec's forehead, get some idea of his temperature in the same way that Logan's own mother had done when he'd been a child. It wouldn't help - transgenics always ran hot and he'd have no idea what was normal for Alec and what was running a fever.

When Alec had emptied the glass, he pulled back and wiped his palm across his mouth messily, wetting the edge of his sleeve. Logan waited for him to finish, watching him carefully. His colour was a little better, but he still looked like a strong breeze would knock him over. Again, there was that frisson of dissidence; if Alec was anything, it was solid. Far from dependable, but solid nonetheless.

"Okay?" he asked eventually.

Alec met his gaze steadily, which was an improvement at least, before nodding once. The movement was unusually economical for Alec, who never kept still, always fidgeting, scratching his neck, bouncing on his feet. It worried Logan in spite of himself.

"Think you can make it upstairs now?" Logan kept his voice steady, neutral in spite of the mingled concern and irritation thrumming through him. There was impatience in the mix too, but he had to at least make Alec as comfortable as possible before he started interrogating.

Alec's eyes flicked past him, assessing the stairs and the distance to them. Then they moved back to Logan's face, Alec's own face expressionless. That was also disturbing to see. Again he nodded, just once, and began to rise awkwardly to his feet.

Logan didn't hesitate to help him this time, Alec's pride be damned. They'd passed the point where it mattered and the sooner he could get Alec upstairs, the sooner he could start asking the questions he needed to.

Alec was heavier than he looked, probably a result of more compact muscle mass or maybe denser bones, something that made him faster and stronger and less likely to break. Logan had never thought about it before, but it made sense even if it also made navigating the pair of them upstairs more difficult. He'd never noticed it with Max, but then he'd never tried picking her up, or even borne her weight - held her, yes but...

Alec slipped, went down heavily, his knee hitting the step and his free hand flailing for the rail. Logan couldn't help but wince, even though he knew that the bruise would heal quickly. "Sorry," he gasped out, pulling Alec's arm more firmly around his shoulder and tightening his own grip around Alec's waist.

Alec didn't answer - all of his concentration seemed to be focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

By the time they reached the main room, upstairs, Logan was sweating heavily and Alec's clothes were damp and clammy under his hands. Now that he could see clearly, there was no blood so the shivers still wracking Alec's frame weren't due to shock. It was one worry to cross off the list but Alec still didn't look good.

He lowered Alec onto the sofa, where he settled back into the cushions with a groan. After a second's hesitation, Logan eased him upright again, ignoring Alec's confused frown, and began to ease Alec's hooded jacket off.

The t-shirt underneath was drier than his jacket, meaning that it was raining outside, or had been when Alec had made his way through the streets to Logan's. He could smell Alec's sweat though, musky and sharp, and Alec's skin was a little clammy to the touch too. He left the t-shirt on, pulling the throw down from the back of the couch to wrap around Alec.

Alec was still watching him, tired and wary. He seemed more focused, though. More with it, his eyes tracking all of Logan's moves even if he stayed quiet. Logan rocked back on his heels, rested his hands on his knees, as non-threatening as he knew how to be - and given Alec's background, he had to be pretty non-threatening.

He kept it simple.

"Start talking."

Alec raised an eyebrow at him, but it lacked the normal mocking edge. Maybe he'd kept it too simple.

"Why are you here, Alec? What's going on at TC? Max..." He paused, looked away and swallowed. "What are you up to?"

"Max... She's okay." Alec wasn't slurring his words anymore, but they came out disjointed anyway, exhaustion written in every line of his body and in his face. He was coherent enough to immediately hone in on Logan's main concern. "Seizures, yeah, but... it's not quite that bad yet."

Yet.

"And you left her your tryptophan?"

Alec looked away, rolled one shoulder in an awkward shrug.

"Why...? Alec, what the hell are you doing outside TC? I thought the blockade was in effect?"

Alec had apparently pulled himself together enough to aim a rather pointed look in his direction. There was no weight behind it, though, and Logan shrugged it off, not at all distracted from what he wanted to know.

"Yes. 'S why we're low on tryptophan." Alec closed his eyes again, obviously calling on his reserves. "Food's okay. But tryptophan? Not many sources."

Logan was already putting it together. "And that's what you're doing, trying to get tryptophan?"

"'s." Alec cleared his throat, tried again. "Yes."

Logan's mind was already racing, making plans. "When's the meet?"

It took him a second to realise that the sound Alec was making was supposed to be a laugh, not a cough.

"Today. Place... was crawling with sector cops. Bastard sold us out."

Logan was hyperaware of the tryptophan burning a hole in his pocket. If TC was running out...

"S'okay, Logan. Wasn't followed." That was the least of Logan's concerns now. "If they'd been military... but they were jus' sector cops. Blew 'em off. Got over the fence, into this sector before the seizures hit. So you don't need to worry about -"

"How long?" he asked abruptly.

As shaken as Alec was - as sick as Alec was - he still managed to keep up with Logan's train of thought. "Few days. Week maybe."

"And then?"

Alec mustered up enough energy to smirk, but again there was no heat in it, none of his usual arrogance. "Then things are really gonna suck."

That was an understatement. He remembered the research that he'd done when he first realised that Max had a problem. He also remembered what he'd told Original Cindy back then - without tryptophan, Max could slip into a coma and die.

They all could - at least the ones based on the X-5 genetic template. That meant the X-5s, the X-6s, maybe even the X-8s if they'd been created before Manticore had identified the genetic flaw in the earlier models, and some of the later transhumans.

All of them. Dead from a side effect.

Logan didn't think of himself as a particularly selfish man, but he couldn't help picturing Max's face in his mind rather than those not always nameless or faceless other transgenics. Max.

"You said you left your tryptophan for Max." His voice was tight, stressed, and he didn't care if Alec picked up on it. Alec's eyes were drifting shut again, small tremors starting up in his hands. Logan felt like a shit, pushing, but even the small sense of shame that burned, deep in his chest, didn't stop him. "How long?"

"Little longer." Alec slowly toppled sideways, trying to make the move look planned. It didn't fool Logan; Alec was moving like an old man rather than someone who was twenty, maybe. Twenty two at most. "S'e's gonna kick m' ass."

The tremors were more marked now, getting worse along with Alec's speech, and Logan was torn between giving Alec some of his remaining tryptophan and letting him ride it out. He had twelve tablets left. Twelve. That was all. He had no idea whether that would be enough for Alec - how long it would give Alec - let alone Max with her bitch shark DNA.

"Why?" He didn't even know he was going to ask the question until it was out there, hanging unfairly in the air.

"S'e's our leader," Alec slurred. His fingers were wound tightly in the fabric of the throw, jerking with each shudder that now shook his body. "'Sides. You tol' me to take care of her, treat her right."

Crap.

The shudders were building up to another full blown seizure, Alec's fingers now locked into claws, his spine bending and his lips curling back from his teeth. Logan swore, scrambling for the bottle in his pocket. The gun fell out with a clatter and he kicked it to one side, busy wrestling with the lid. It resisted, his fingers, slick with sweat, slipping time after time. He swore again, about to resort to using his teeth, when it finally gave, coming open with a soft pop.

He eased Alec's head back, holding it steady through the spasms that wracked his body. Alec's eyes were still open, pupils blown wide, ringed with thin circles of green. Logan didn't bother with platitudes this time, simply pressing another couple of tryptophan tablets between Alec's parted lips. He made sure that Alec swallowed them, stroking the other man's throat until he was sure they were gone. They'd passed weird, were well into surreal territory, so when Alec turned his head, pressing his face into Logan's shoulder, Logan didn't flinch. He doubted Alec was seeking anything like comfort. It was probably simply a combination of exhaustion and the fact that the position gave Alec a way to brace himself when the seizures were worst. And a way to hide his face - his vulnerability - from Logan, who had no reason to love him.

It took a little longer for the tremors to subside this time, several minutes passing before Alec finally stirred sluggishly. Logan let go of him, easing him back down onto the sofa and covering him with the throw again. It was pragmatic rather than tender, but it was strange to have it pass without a smart aleck comment.

"Alec?" Alec's eyes slowly opened again, but his gaze was unfocused. He blinked several times before he finally managed to meet Logan's gaze. "How long will these last? I mean, how long before the tryptophan kicks in?"

A small frown creased Alec's brow. "Don' know. Not ha' seizures before." The frown deepened. "Not that I 'member. They really suck."

"Okay." Logan kept his voice calm, soothing. He doubted it would have much of an effect on Alec, but it helped Logan at least. "Look, Alec. Does Max know what happened?"

"Phoned Luke. Tol' him what went down."

"Before or after the seizures hit."

"'Fore."

"Okay." He sat back on his heels, thinking furiously. Too many variables and too little information to go on. He needed to do what he always did: get as much information as possible and as soon as possible, form his conclusions from that.

"I'm going to try TC, see if I can't get a hold of Luke or Dix, maybe Max if I'm lucky. Let them know what happened, see where we go from here. Okay? Alec, you still with me?"

Alec was just watching him, his face unreadable. Whether that was because Alec was wrung dry and feeling nothing, or because he'd recovered enough to mask what he was really thinking and feeling, Logan couldn't tell.

"What is it?"

This time, Alec made sure to enunciate each word clearly.

"Max is going to kick my ass."

Logan couldn't help his sudden grin. "Probably, but, hey. She's your girlfriend. I think it's a little late to run now. Not to mention, she'd probably just hunt you down."

It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would to say it out loud. There was still an ache where Max wasn't, but whether she was with Alec or not, she was still a part of his life and he still cared about her. He should have remembered that before he started avoiding her.

He ignored Alec's frown. Even sick, Alec deserved to be taken down a peg or two. He hadn't forgotten all of the mockery Alec had aimed in his direction, even if it had grown more good-natured the longer their lives had intersected. Instead, he tapped Alec's arm and rose to his feet. "You need anything?"

"Sleep," Alec groaned, frown smoothing out as he burrowed down into the shapeless sofa cushions.

Logan smirked. "I'll ask Max to keep the yelling to a reasonable level then."

Alec flipped him the bird before curling both hands underneath his chin, eyes already closed and his breathing evening out.

Logan shook his head, exasperated, as he headed over to the corner and his less than state of the art computer set up. It was already running, and he clicked through the windows automatically, closing some, minimising others before logging onto a secure server. From there, it was several hops, skips and jumps to different servers and secure pages until he finally accessed the hidden TC connection. He'd already fired off a message via an untraceable webmail account on one of his many stops en route, and it was only a matter of moments before the black screen was replaced by Luke's rodent like face and pleasant smile.

"Hey, Logan. Long time no see. What can we do for you?"

"It's more what I can do for you. Max there?"

Luke glanced back over his shoulder, obviously torn between his normal desire to be helpful and risking the wrath of Max. "Well..."

He forced a smile onto his face, fighting down the impatience and the bitterness that went along with it. "It won't take long."

Luke - never one to hide his feelings - looked wretched. "She's kind of pissed at the moment, if you wanna know the truth. But still..." He gave Logan a sudden, sunny smile. "You're probably the only person whose head she isn't going to bite off. 'Course, that might be because you're at the other end of a vid stream, but, hey. Smart move if you ask me. Hey, Max!"

Logan winced as the bellow through the speakers, casting a quick look back towards the sofa.

Alec didn't even twitch.

When he turned back, Max's frowning face filled the screen. When she saw Logan, that frowned faded, became a pleased if tired smile.

"Hey, you," she said.

"Hey, yourself," he answered, eyes already tracking over her face, taking in the shadows under her eyes, the way her hair was limp, tucked back behind her ears. Even with that, she looked good and he had to clench his fingers so that he didn't embarrass himself by reaching out and touching the screen. "I think I have something of yours."

The frown was back, wrinkling her brow adorably. It was confused rather than pissed this time, although that changed as soon as it clicked and she realised what he was talking about.

"Alec? He's there with you?"

"The one and only."

"Tell him I'm going to kick his ass!"

"Yeah. He thought you'd say that."

She huffed, hesitated. "He's okay?" The question sounded grudging, but he knew Max well enough to know what it masked. Her expression was tense, and he put her out of her misery.

"He's okay. He's seizing, but I had some tryptophan. It seems to be easing."

She didn't ask why he'd had tryptophan - he suspected that he was far more transparent than she'd ever be. Instead, she frowned again, picking up on what he wasn't saying.

"Why would Alec need tryptophan from you?"

He didn't know why he hesitated. It wasn't as though he owed Alec anything, and surely Max would figure it out sooner or later. When he did finally answer, he kept his voice as neutral as possible. "He said he left his with you. That you were... more at risk than he was."

Max's eyes widened, outraged. "He said what?" The word was almost as loud as Luke's bellow, and Logan winced again. "Why the hell would he...?" She trailed off, her face thunderous.

"Is it true?" he asked evenly, not wanting to get pulled into an argument about Alec.

She dropped her eyes, avoiding his gaze, and gave a half shrug that was painfully familiar. He'd seen it once tonight already. "What can I say? Shark DNA's -"

"A bitch." He rubbed tiredly at the bridge of his nose. "So I hear."

There was an awkward silence before she finally admitted, "We're running low. Rationing what we've got."

"I heard that too."

"We'll be fine." And there was the bravado she always showed, that whole 'girls kick ass' attitude that he still loved. He chose his next words with care.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You mean, why didn't we ask you for help?" Her chin was up, her head cocked to the side and he recognised the warning signs. He didn't backtrack - he could be almost as stubborn as she was. Almost. The figure asleep on the sofa was the only indication he needed that maybe when it came down to it, he just wasn't stubborn enough.

"You could have done," he said softly. "I'd have been here for you. All of you." Alec included, it seemed.

It also seemed pointless to add that, so he cleared his throat and focused on the matter in hand instead. "Alec... he told you that the cops were there? Waiting?"

He watched on his monitor as Max folded her arms. She looked even more tired, as drained as he'd ever seen her. "He told you about the blockade?"

Logan nodded, not bothering to tell her that he'd kept abreast of what was happening outside TC, even if he hadn't been in touch with those he cared about inside in too long.

"The only route for tryptophan was some low life dealer Alec knew. He went to set up the buy. Way we figure it, the bastard must have sold us out. Figured out who the hell would want tryptophan, or figured out what a revved up guy Alec really is." She shrugged again, this time the move more like her own than Alec's. "It's either that or someone here sold us out, and you know that's not going to happen."

"Yeah." He tapped his fingers against his desk, thinking. "Alec also said it was the sector police, not the military."

"Figures," she replied. "I hear they're getting all territorial over who gets to kick our asses." The smile she flashed him held no amusement, just a bitter acknowledgement of the follies of those in power. It was a feeling that Logan could get behind.

"I'll call Matt Sung. See if he can cast any light on things."

"What good would that do?"

It wasn't an outright rejection, but he could understand why she'd be dubious.

"Maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe the bastard didn't sell you out until after he got your tryptophan."

She was still dubious. "It's a long shot."

"So were all of you."

She smirked, acknowledging the point. "Okay, shake Sung, see what falls out. Meanwhile, we'll go back to looking for low life dealers who don't mind supplying those of us who have a barcode on the backs of our necks. At a premium of course. Alec there?"

He glanced to his left, where Alec was still a vague shape under the throw. "Yeah. He's asleep." She snorted, and once again he found himself defending Alec, although he had no idea why. "The seizures took a lot out of him." The only acknowledgement she gave to that was a twist of her lips. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "What about you?"

"I'm fine. Seizures are a bitch, but they've been worse. 'Course, it's going to get worse if we don't get our meds but..."

"Talking about meds, how many should I be giving Alec?"

She shrugged. "Ask Alec. He'll know best how many he needs to get him through a seizure. It kind of varies, depending on your cocktail. And when he wakes up, you can tell him I'm definitely going to kick his ass for being stupid enough to go on a mission and not take his meds with him."

He swallowed a smile; for all of Max's tough, don't care attitude, she couldn't completely mask the concern underneath.

"He was worried about you, Max. I can't blame him for that." Her eyes flicked away from his for a second. It made him contrary, pushing, for once, instead of pulling back. "He cares about you." She still didn't say anything, just shifting uncomfortably. "Just like you care about him."

"Yeah, sure." Her eyes flicked away again, and a piece of the jigsaw he hadn't even known was missing suddenly fit into place. "Look, Logan, if the cop's come calling, looking for Alec..."

"They won't. Alec thinks he lost them, and I trust him on this one. They've got no reason to be looking for him in this sector anyway."

"Like I said, they're getting territorial. It's possible they might sweep areas on principle, use those nifty little heat detectors they've got a hard on for and that they've wrestled from the Feds. Wouldn't be the first time since they locked us down tight in here. Or what they think is tight. Make sure that the fine neighbourhoods of Seattle are still free of freaks."

He didn't know if her concern was for him or for Alec. Knowing Max, it would be for both of them, but he couldn't resist needling her a little, not now certain things had clicked. "If that happens, I'll just tell them he's my boyfriend and I'm nursing him through the flu. That will account for his higher body temperature, and he looks sick enough for them to buy it. Cute enough too."

She gave him a long-suffering and sour 'you think you're so funny' look, one he'd seen her give Alec several times. "If you're finished with the stories of domestic bliss, I gotta blaze -"

"Has Alec ever had seizures before?" He didn't know why he asked - maybe it was because he was still trying to be fair to Alec in spite of everything, or maybe because he just wanted to keep on hearing her voice. "That you know of?"

"If he has, I wouldn't know about it. Not like he talks about anything important." She bit her lip, looked away again, obviously realising she'd said more than she'd intended. "Why?"

"He doesn't think so."

"Doesn't think...?" The frown was back as she thought it through. "It's possible he hasn't. Like I said, shark DNA's a bitch. Me, I don't sleep as much - that's my brand of messed up cocktail. Makes me more prone to seizures, like the other night combat models. Like Jack." Her mouth twitched at the mention of her dead brother. "Alec's DNA is different. It's possible they figured the glitch out before the seizures ever got around to visiting his particular model. He certainly sleeps more, but that could be 'cause he's a lazy bum. If he's been on meds his whole life..." She shrugged, seeming more comfortable now that they'd moved away from the topic of 'Max and Alec' and were firmly into just 'Alec' territory.

"So, how much do I give him?"

Another shrug. "I don't think you can overdose on them. Least, I don't think we can. But I normally take between six and eight - maybe as many as twelve if it gets real bad. And lots of milk, chicken. Chocolate if you've got it, although the good stuff would be wasted on Mr Pork Rinds." She treated him to a smile. "How long has he been seizing?"

"I... I'm not sure. When did he check in?"

"'Bout six hours ago."

"Some time after that. He said he got over the sector fence before they hit."

"So, maybe three, four hours ago if he was being careful and not an ass like he usually is. He's in for a rough few hours. If he seizes again, give him some more. It won't hurt. Seizures'll probably get worse before they get better. They usually peak around hour six, but the tryptophan should have kicked in by then. Ease him through them and down over the other side."

"Okay. I'll bear that in mind. I'd better..." He made vague gestures towards Alec, even though Max couldn't see him.

"Yeah. Logan?" She stopped him before he could disconnect. "Look... I know I've got no right to ask..."

"You've every right, Max." He gave her a small smile. "I told you. No matter what happened between us, I've still got your back."

"Yeah, well... I need you to have Alec's. If this is the first time... Logan, they can be scary as hell. Alec may be an ass on occasion, but he doesn't deserve this."

"None of you do," he said softly.

She gave him another one of those smiles, the small ones that showed more than she intended. It was cracked around the edges but she'd pull it together - she always did.

"Still going to kick his ass." She reached out, touched the screen on the other side briefly, before her fingers moved off screen, ready to cut the connection. "Let me know what Sung says."

He nodded.

"Be careful," she added and then she was gone.

He watched as the picture dwindled to a small white dot in the centre of the screen. After a few seconds, even that had disappeared. Only then did he let his fingers touch where hers had been.

Alec was awake when he checked, shivering and pale. Logan had to swallow down a small surge of irritation. "How much did you catch?"

"You're going to talk to someone called Sung and Max is still going to kick my ass. Oh, and apparently I'm your cute boyfriend. So, I figure that's all the important stuff, right?" He sounded better, voice a little raspy, and it figured that he'd perk up enough to pick up on the embarrassing things and give Logan a hard time about them.

"Pretty much." He sat down on the arm of the sofa, which creaked a little under his weight, and tried not to react to Alec's needling. "Matt Sung is a detective who's done a few favours for Eyes Only over the years. He's a good man. I'm going to see what I can find out about what went down today."

"Why?"

Alec's eyes were closed again, so he couldn't tell if Alec was genuinely curious or was needling him again.

"You think your drug dealing friend sold you out?"

"He's not my friend and it makes sense."

"You think he sold you out before he got what he was selling you?"

That got Alec's attention, Alec's eyes snapping open. He twisted his neck, trying to look up at Logan, but the angle was wrong and he ended up squinting. His face was creased where it had been resting on the pillow and his hair was sticking up. He looked ridiculous. Still cute but that was Manticore genetics for you.

"I think Dmitri's scum but he's scum that likes to turn a profit. If he sold us out to the cops, it would have been to save his own skin. He's also risk averse. Doesn't keep his merchandise around for long, at least not his normal merchandise. But far as I know, tryptophan's legal. Less risk for him but a tidy profit."

"Meaning?"

Alec gave it some thought, a crease between his eyebrows to match those in his cheeks.

"I think he probably got his hands on as much tryptophan as he could once I set up the meet - he wouldn't want to meet more than once, he'd want to be ready to go ahead with the deal as soon as we'd set a price. Less risk for him that way. And I think that the cops caught up with him between then and when he was supposed to meet me."

"And he then had a bargaining chip."

"Yeah." Alec's tone was sour. "Me. I hate being a bargaining chip."

"So there's a good chance the tryptophan's in the City."

"Probably some police compound somewhere, yeah. All nicely locked up and ready to steal."

"That's one way of looking at it." Alec was still frowning. "What?"

"Headache."

Oh. "You want something for it?"

"Not unless you got morphine."

Logan froze, eyeing Alec carefully. Shivering, yes, and now that he looked carefully, there were lines of pain around Alec's eyes, a tightness around his mouth that wasn't usual. "It's that bad?"

"It's a bigger bitch than Max, but it's not that. We metabolise over the counter painkillers too quickly. They're no use."

Logan fished the bottle of tryptophan out of his pocket and put it on what passed for a coffee table. He thought that at one point it had been a packing case, but he hadn't wanted to press Joshua about the décor, just grateful for somewhere to crash out of White's reach. After another second's thought, he picked the gun up off the floor and placed it carefully next to the tryptophan.

"There's some Tylenol in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom if you change your mind," he said. "There's a little more milk - I'll get it, just in case. Think you can eat something?"

"I think I'd just throw it back up, all over your nice blanket."

"It's a throw," Logan corrected automatically, then coloured, waiting for Alec's smart comeback. There wasn't one. Alec didn't even smirk at him and his eyebrows remained resolutely lowered. His body was still wracked with shivers, and he pulled the blanket more firmly around himself, tucking it under his chin, where his hands had, once again, come to rest. "If you change your mind about that, I think I've got some tinned chicken soup somewhere."

"I hear... 's good for the flu."

Logan eyed him carefully again before giving into temptation and pushing Alec's hair back from his forehead, placing his hand there. Alec was hot to the touch, but only normally hot.

Alec didn't even twitch. Instead he settled down further into the cushions and his breathing began to even out again.

"I'll be back soon. Try to get some sleep."

It was a stupidly obvious piece of advice to give, particularly as by the looks of things Alec had already managed to follow it.

---

Part 2 of 2