New Dog Old Tricks

Summary: The mayor is demanding a meeting, Max has the shakes, and Alec isn't happy about either. Set in the Loose the Hounds series.

Apparently, fluffy Christmas one-shots are inescapable! This is set in the Loose the Hounds series after the last one, Leash Laws. If you don't feel like reading through all that history, a brief sum-up would be… There was a riot outside City Hall, where Max was almost killed. She and Alec are married, they've formed a successful company with the other Transgenics working for anyone who will hire them, including the government. They legally own Terminal City, etc, etc. Hopefully the rest is self-explanatory.

Like many problems, it started small, barely noticeable.

Alec yawned as he walked into Command. Luke and Dix were both sitting at the main console in front of a bank of screens, typing away, while Mole was standing at a nearby table looking at what appeared to be blueprints. A few others were wandering around carrying papers, talking on phones or working at other terminals doing research. Bits of tinsel, ornaments and garland were stuck in odd places around all the equipment, but it added some festive cheer.

Max was standing beside Dix looking up at one of the TV feeds, and Alec headed toward her, nodding at Mole as he passed.

"Hey, Max." Alec set his hand against her back and looked up at the screens. He felt a slight shiver run across her skin where he'd touched her. "You cold?" he asked.

It was a typical damp, soggy day in Seattle and the glories of December temperatures only added to the levels of general weather-induced misery. Still… that sort of thing didn't usually bother a Transgenic. They just ran too hot for it to really matter.

"Nah," Max said offhandedly. "Just tired of the rain. If somebody doesn't get this roof fixed, not only am I gonna be permanently waterlogged, but all of our fancy equipment is gonna be ruined."

Alec held up his hands in surrender. "Hey. Money or no money, it's not easy finding roofing material in these days and times. I know a guy who knows a guy, but it's taking some time."

Max turned to face him, hands on her hips. "And you think it was easy finding this equipment?" She pointed to the new screens and all of the accompanying hardware that comprised their not quite state of the art, but definitely a step up system. Freak, Inc. was making money hand over fist and some of that had gone into upgrading Command. They had a lot of people on varying missions they were tracking and the tech had been one of the first necessary acquisitions.

Alec put his hands on his hips to mirror her. "Since I'm the one who had to find all the equipment, not to mention barter the deal, I'm pretty sure I know how hard it was to find."

Max's eyes narrowed. "You're gonna be the one finding it again if-"

"Take it outside," Mole growled. "The rest of us are trying to work. We don't need to be scarred by your freaky version of foreplay."

Max turned her glare on Mole. "Why, thank you, Mole," she said sweetly. "You just volunteered to help when the roofing comes in."

"Fine," he bit out past his cigar. "As long as you two knock it off. We like you better when you two have been going at it like rabbits and you're too tired to talk. As a matter of fact-"

"Don't finish that thought," Alec cut him off. "If you haven't figured out her penchant for vengeance yet, even I can't help you."

Mole grunted and turned back to his blueprints, chomping on his cigar. He surreptitiously scratched at a patch on his arm. Apparently lizards were prone to fungal infections when left in damp conditions too long. Seattle was bad enough, but Max had assigned him to KP duty for a month after a particularly nasty comment and he couldn't quite seem to kick it.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Alec asked.

"Higgs is on her way to Michigan for the Severson job. Jojo finished up the Thompson detail overnight. He's already on his way back." She frowned unhappily. "Brig and Boxster are still in Tokyo looking for the prototype stolen from LifeTech. Last we heard, they'd picked up a tail, but they also had a possible lead. They're due to check in a few hours from now."

Alec nodded, itching to do something to help them. He and his team had just come in the night before from their own mission, but that didn't mean he liked waiting around for something new to do or sitting back while others were in harm's way. "What else?" he asked. He could tell there was something more going on.

"The mayor called. He asked for a meeting with me."

Max's tone was casual, but Alec could hear the underlying tension. He felt it himself. To put it mildly, Alec was not a fan of the mayor. Any mention of Max meeting with him was enough to bring back memories of the riot outside City Hall that had killed most of Max's team and almost killed her.

"What does he want?"

"Don't know." Max shrugged. "Just said we needed to talk as soon as possible and it couldn't be handled over the phone."

"And of course, he refused to come here." They had a building on the edge of TC just for meeting clients where the contaminants wouldn't be a problem and anyone hostile wouldn't get a good look at their defenses.

"Of course."

"We're sending her team with her," Mole said. Fred and Barney were her main security whenever she needed guards, both of them part wolf and fiercely loyal.

"I'm going too," Alec stated firmly.

"No," several voices chorused.

"You know it's against protocol for you both to be outside TC unless absolutely necessary," Dix said. Max and Alec were their de facto leaders and they couldn't afford to lose both of them.

"She's meeting with the mayor. It's necessary," Alec shot back.

"Alec-" Max tried, but he cut her off.

"Don't Alec me. The last time you dealt with him, he pushed you out into a crowd that was out for blood. You nearly died."

"Alec-"

"Almost the whole city council, and especially the mayor, fought to keep us from taking over Terminal City legally."

"Will you just-"

"And then when the Familiars were messing with us, one of our people nearly killed him. He tried to have us declared a public menace and have our land grant taken away."

"Alec!" she shouted to stop his rant.

He was breathing hard, furious that they were even thinking of allowing her to go to the mayor's office again. He'd nearly lost her the last time. It had cost the lives of good men, friends, to keep her alive.

"If you'd give me a second," she huffed, "I was going to say that whether they like it or not, I already told them you're coming too." She gave him a pointed glare. "I want you with me, that is if you can keep it together."

Alec completely deflated. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"I warned you he was gonna throw a fit." Mole sounded smug and held out his hand. Luke reached into his pocket, pulled out a few bills and slapped them in Mole's palm.

Dix shot him a dirty look. "I was hoping he would at least stay calm enough for Max to tell him." He, too, had to produce a bit of cash and hand it over to Mole.

"Princess gets pissed when the boss is sent out without her pet terrier." Mole grinned and looked at Alec. "In case you didn't get that, you're the terrier."

"Thanks for the insight. How's that itch doing? I need to find some more of that special cream for you?"

Mole scowled. "You're a riot."

Alec gave him an answering frown. "We're going to the mayor's. Why don't we not talk about riots."

"Point taken." Mole nodded. "The wolves are going and I already put Sig's team on standby. They're no good for covert work, so it won't matter if the whole town gets a good look at them on the way to the meeting."

Alec glanced toward Max to make sure she was all right with those arrangements. Sig was a big bulldog of a guy, all blunt instrument and brute force over well thought out plans. He'd made a play for Max's job, which had been knocked down almost immediately. Sig had eventually accepted Max and Alec's leadership, but still... Sig wasn't their favorite person and if the situation went south, it might come down to relying on him to save her life.

"He'll be fine," Max said. "His crew is perfect for bodyguard detail."

Plus Alec wouldn't mind too much if a few of the troublemakers got picked off. Max shot him a look as if she knew what he was thinking, and Alec just grinned, because that meant she'd been thinking the same thing.

"When's the meeting?"

"An hour," Mole grunted. "You two better go get your fancy duds on or he won't think you're taking this seriously."

Alec snorted and Max's lips twitched in an almost-laugh. As if they had anything else to wear. Yes, Freak, Inc. was making good money, but almost every penny was being pumped back into Terminal City. In addition to the tech for Command and the troops, and setting up a proper infirmary, they'd spent a fortune upgrading their living quarters. TC had been an industrial section of town which meant no real living space. On top of structural repairs and changes, that meant bringing in furniture, building bathrooms, showers, kitchens, heating, and on and on. Watching trained killers fight over paint swatches had been a joy to behold.

Thanks to the money coming in, the defenses around TC were now top notch instead of walls and gates made of cobbled together scrap. They'd also sunk large, large portions of their proceeds into cleaning up the toxic spill. While the current residents of TC were immune to the effects, that didn't mean it was good for them, or for visitors, or that it would be true for future residents. After it had become clear that, due to their genetics, having children was going to be nearly impossible without medical and genetic assistance, experts had been brought in to help. Genetic councilors, gene therapists, in vitro experts, OB experts. As a result there were a few pregnancies amongst the population, but everyone was afraid that because of the genetic tinkering to allow the births, the babies might not be as resistant to the toxins as their parents. Not that they were telling anyone outside TC about the cleanup efforts. They'd prefer that outsiders continue to think their land was as toxic and off limits as ever.

In short, Max and Alec were going in their normal clothes and the mayor could suck it.

The transport van stopped at the rear entrance to City Hall. Things weren't as dangerous as they used to be, but they'd learned the hard way that drawing attention to their presence wasn't a good idea, so back door it was.

Like a well oiled machine, Fred had already hopped out while the vehicle was still moving and had the sliding door open just as the van rolled to a stop. Barney stepped out first, then Alec and Max hopped out quickly and were immediately surrounded by Fred, Barney, and Sig's crew, which Alec semi-affectionately liked to call the Goon Squad. They were big and scary looking and no one in their right mind would mess with them. Two of Sig's guys stayed to guard the vehicle, while the rest of them trooped inside.

Security must have been forewarned of their arrival because they didn't try to stop a group of heavily armed Transgenics marching into City Hall. There was a minor hold-up, however, when the guards didn't want to allow them upstairs while still armed. A quick call to the mayor's office, assuring them Max would turn right around and go back to TC unless she was guarded by her own people had them all being quickly ushered up the main staircase.

Instead of being taken to the mayor's office, they were escorted to a large conference room. Several security guards already stood inside as well as a few sector police, more milling around in the corridor, none of which boded well for the meeting.

"Why do I get the feeling they know something we don't?" Alec muttered.

"Because they do. That's why we're here," Max shot back quietly. "Now shut up and pay attention."

And he was. Alec was looking at Max's left hand which was on the side closest to him. She was holding it closed, but it was visibly shaking.

"Max?" he said softly. He remembered the shudder that he'd felt earlier when he'd put his hand on her back.

She looked down and saw where he was looking. "I took some extra tryptophan before we left," she said, as if it was nothing, as if she didn't have a case of the shakes that appeared to be getting worse.

"We should put this off." He kept his voice low, but knew the Transgenics around them could hear it.

"Problem?" Sig grunted, although they all had to have heard the mention of tryptophan and gathered the ramifications.

"No," Max replied firmly. "Let's just get this meeting done."

Alec could get behind that notion. He hadn't wanted Max here at all and now she was in danger of all out seizures and he was supposed to care what the mayor had to say?

Fred and Barney were stationed outside the door in case of anyone hostile trying to enter, while Sig's crew entered the room with them and stationed themselves strategically.

The conference room was a typical semi-rundown government room. There was a large, rectangular central table and worn chairs all along either side. The carpet was threadbare and a few ugly paintings by local artists adorned the walls. Someone had made an attempt to add some garland and a wreath or two that looked like they were the same ones that had been used for the last twenty years, still smashed flat from the boxes where they'd been stored.

Alec pulled out a chair for Max and was further worried to see that she actually stumbled a bit as she sat, plunking herself less than gracefully in the chair. He quickly sat beside her and took her hand, alarmed as he felt the continuing tremors. She said she'd taken extra tryptophan before coming. Her tremors should be getting better, not worse. She shouldn't be getting them at all. Alec took Max's welfare as his personal mission and he made sure that she and all the Transgenics in TC had enough milk, cheese, nuts, poultry, pills and every other source of tryptophan he could produce.

The conference room door opened and Mayor Jackson entered. He was the typical lifetime politician, despite his weak chin. His dark, perfectly coiffed hair wouldn't move in a stiff breeze and his suit probably cost enough to pay for the roof repairs to Command. Right behind the mayor, a second man walked in. He was medium height, dark complected, with black hair in a military cut. He was in uniform and Alec frowned when he realized who it was.

"This is Chief Lopez, head of the Sector Police."

Alec stood and shook both their hands, while Max remained seated. "We meet at last," Alec said grandly. "I'm a big fan of your work. Both of you. Really."

The mayor and the chief shot each other a displeased look as if to say this was not the way they'd planned on starting the meeting.

"Alec," Max said, her tone a clear warning.

"What? I've never had a chance to talk to these two." He didn't take his eyes off the two men. He let them feel the full weight of his angry predatory gaze, despite his affable expression. "Mr. Mayor, you ordered my wife and her men out of City Hall into the waiting hands of a lynch mob. And you, Chief, your men have happily hunted us, beaten us, killed us. While our people were dying during the riot, your men stood by and watched." His smile hurt it was so tight. "Good times."

"Alec," Max said again more firmly. "Sit. They get it."

"I doubt it," he muttered.

The mayor and the city council periodically tried to figure out a way to tax them or charge them exorbitant fees since they'd figured out Freak, Inc. wasn't going away and that it was a moneymaker. Luckily their tax-exempt status was ironclad thanks to the deal they'd made with the Feds for Terminal City.

The sector police still tried to blame them for anything they could. Thanks to their harassment, one of their company's expenses was a pair of overworked lawyers who in addition to dealing with contracts and all kinds of paperwork, had to deal with getting them out of trouble, real or created simply because of who their clients were.

"Everybody sit down," Max snapped, obviously tired of the posturing.

Alec did as he was told, but he still eyed the men who also sat, warily on the opposite side of the table.

"You asked for this meeting," Max said. "H-how…" She cleared her throat. "How can we help you?"

Alec looked at her sharply. Her vocal glitch was another sign of the shakes. Her vocal chords were staring to spasm. She barely spared him a glance, however, and Alec gritted his teeth in frustration. Max looked after everyone else's welfare but her own. It was one of the reasons he'd made it one of his missions in life to look after her properly. She certainly wasn't going to do it.

"First of all, thank you for agreeing to this meeting," the mayor started.

Max simply nodded, while Alec sat back and tried to look less murderous. If they could get this meeting over with, he could get Max back to TC.

"I know relations have been," the mayor searched for an appropriate word, "strained between us in the past."

"You could say that," Alec replied dryly.

Max had met with the mayor after the riot and set up the early arrangements to keep them all from being killed and allow supplies in. Alec had been too ill at the time, and since then they'd managed to handle everything without having to actually meet.

The mayor continued as if Alec hadn't spoken. "That is why we decided to bring this situation to you before it could escalate."

"What situation?"

Chief Lopez had set a folder on the table in front of him. He now opened it, and picked up the top sheet. He looked at it for a second, then scooted it across the table so they could see it.

"What are we looking at?" Alec held the paper up so Max could see it. Her hand was clenched tightly in a fist and he doubted she would be able to hold anything. Even if she could, it would be shaking and she wouldn't want anyone to see that.

"This is a still from security footage of one of your people leaving a business where the owner was attacked without provocation."

"How do you know it's o-one of our people?" Max asked.

"Because his prints were on file from a previous case."

"What exactly is on the video? I want to see it," she demanded.

"Not until you hand this person over for questioning," Lopez replied.

Max was already shaking her head. "You have to be crazy to think we'll send one of our people to you for interrogation. The last time, you handed them straight over to the military. He almost died."

"We're aware," the chief said. "That is part of why we've brought this to you first. The person involved in that particular… incident, is the same person in that photo."

"I know," Alec said coldly. "Marco was one of Max's guards that you shoved out the door into the hands of a mob. The three others died, while you handed Marco over to the military already half-dead. You think we're going to let you anywhere near him?"

"He's a suspect in an assault," Lopez said, his face turning red as he grew angrier.

"And how many people were charged for the murders of Bingo, Polo and Yankee? Or the attempted murder of Max and Marco? Your people wanted to question us then too." He clenched his teeth trying to stop the angry flow of words. He needed to get Max back to TC. He couldn't seem to stop himself though. The riot was old news and so much had happened since then, but the mere mention of it had him seeing red. "Max crawled back to Terminal City barely alive and the sector police showed up at the gate demanding we hand her over for inciting a riot."

Lopez shifted uncomfortably in his chair and the mayor looked like he wished he could be anywhere but there. The riot and its aftermath had been a media nightmare for the mayor and the sector police.

"A-Alec," Max said quietly. He could barely hear her over the blood rushing in his ears. "We can all agree they were idiots that day, ok?" She looked at the mayor first, then the chief. "Right?"

"Things… could have been handled differently," the chief allowed. "That is why we've brought this to you first. We do not want another incident, or anything that will become a media circus. We want this handled properly, and as quietly as possible."

"Ma'am? Sir?"

Everyone in the room turned at the sound of Sig's growl of a voice.

"W-what?" Max asked, then pursed her lips angrily at the continued stutter.

"I believe if you will let Marco talk to them now, this can be cleared up quickly." He glanced from Max to Alec, and Alec could see he understood the need to get Max home sooner rather than later.

"You know something about this, Sig?" Alec asked. Marco had been barely functional after the riot. He and Polo had been paired since they were born at Manticore. They'd only had one unit number between them and they'd never been apart. They'd lived, eaten, slept, fought… Marco and Polo had been brothers, although they'd never dared let Manticore hear them call each other that. When Polo died that day, Marco had been lost without him.

Joshua had spent a lot of time with Marco trying to help, so had several others, but of all people it had been Sig to take him under his wing. Big, fierce, grade A prick Sig had put Marco on his team and put him to work, and little by little Marco had started to come back to life. Everyone had thought it would be a disaster, but Sig's no nonsense, just-do-your-job mindset had helped Marco find a new routine and new teammates. Which also meant since he wasn't in the room, Marco was outside right now guarding the car. Coming back to City Hall would be hard enough for him. Sig must have decided that staying with their transport was a better job than making him face the men partially responsible for his brother's death.

"Marco came back from a supply run yesterday." Sig tightened his grip on his gun and they could all see the barely contained anger. "He looked like right after the riot. I can tell you what he told me, but they won't be happy 'til he says it himself. Let me get him up here and we can finish this while we're here to make sure they don't do anything stupid. He was on the job and he was following protocol."

"Ah," Alec said. He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a message to Mole in Command. It was a step up from the pager system Logan had used with Max and he loved it. "Do it."

Sig keyed up his mic. "Red-four, make your way to the meeting. Red-three's on his way to replace you." One of Sig's men immediately detached himself from his place at the wall and left the room at a quick pace.

Alec sat back and put his hand along the back of Max's chair. He immediately wanted to swear. He could feel the muscles in her back quivering beneath his fingers. Max's hands were fists at her sides and she looked like she was concentrating to keep the shakes from showing. She looked at him and he could see the growing worry. He wondered if this was really why she'd wanted him along, despite that it was against the rules. Meeting with the mayor brought up terrible memories, but she could have handled this meeting without him. Max was their leader for a reason and she'd had more than her fair share of these sort of meetings since the riot.

Marco came through the door, ramrod straight and purposely not looking at anything. Alec had done some difficult things in his life, but he had no idea how hard it was for Marco to come back to this place and face these people. They hadn't just hurt him. They'd killed a part of him.

"Sit, Marco," Sig ordered.

Alec gestured toward the chair at the end of the table so he would be sitting where everyone could easily see him.

"It's ok," Max said. "W-we j-just-" Max clenched her teeth to stop the shaking. "We just want to know what happened yesterday."

Marco looked horrible, hollow. It was like he'd been right after the riot when the loss had been fresh, when he'd been alive, technically, but not much else. Alec felt like the worst leader possible that Marco had been in the transport van with them and he hadn't noticed something was wrong. He should have realized coming back to City Hall would be traumatic for Marco, and made different security arrangements. It would have pissed Sig off to have his team sidelined, but then breathing the wrong way tended to piss Sig off.

"Tell them," Sig barked. The mayor and the chief jumped, but for Sig, it was downright kind.

"I was coming back from the meeting," Marco said, his tone completely flat.

"What meeting?" Lopez asked. He'd pulled a recorder from his pocket and set it on the table.

"Our poultry guy. I set up the delivery for the chickens. He always wants the money up front so he can just back up to the gate and dump the crates off without having to stop. The toxins make him nervous."

"And then what happened?"

"I was walking past this shop." Marco's eyes were blank, staring straight ahead. It was like he was a husk of a person, he had retreated so far in his head. "There was a sign on the window that said, Freak Souvenirs, real big and Genuine and Authentic. I went inside to see what kind of crap they were selling… Figured it was little… figurines or…" He shrugged. "I don't know. It just ticked me off, so I wanted to see what it was."

"And?" Lopez prompted.

Marco still wasn't looking at anyone, seeing another place and time, but tears had started to fall down his cheeks. He made no move to brush them away. He didn't even seem to realize he was crying. Sig pushed away from the wall and stood beside Marco. He put his hand on the other man's shoulder, but that was all.

"He had a few teeth," Marco said. "And a finger. A few scraps of cloth." He blinked as if coming awake and turned toward Max and Alec. "It looked like he'd grabbed up what he could after the riot."

Max reached out her hand, despite how badly it was shaking. Marco looked at it for a second as if not sure what to do with it, then finally, almost in slow motion, brought his hand up and put his in hers.

"I'm s-sorry," Max whispered.

"Polo chipped one of his teeth in a fight after we got out. Couldn't be sure, but it looked like his," he said.

"What happened?" Lopez asked belligerently. "Did you attack the owner then? Or did you try to take the things and he fought you?"

Marco let out a sound close to a whine, like a wounded animal, and the chief frowned unhappily. Alec was sure the last thing he'd expected was to deal with a PTSD case left over from the riot.

"I offered to pay him," Marco said, horror plain on his face. "I offered to pay him for my own brother's remains! They ripped him to pieces and… and Bingo and Yankee… He had pieces and…" He was starting to go quiet, headed toward catatonic, which was how he'd been after the riot.

"It's ok, Marco," Max said, stopping the flow of words. "You don't have to s-say any more." She looked up at Sig. "Take him back t-to the car."

Sig nodded, then looked to one of his men, who obeyed without having to say anything.

"Wait right there," Lopez said. "We're not finished."

Sig's team member ignored him, grabbed Marco by the arm and helped him get to his feet. In only a few seconds they were out the door.

"Sig?" Alec said.

"When Marco got upset and offered to buy all the stuff, the shop guy realized he was a Transgenic. He pulled a shotgun and tried to kill him on the spot. I think he wanted to add to his collection. Marco dodged the shot, knocked the guy down and took everything in sight."

"You expect me to believe this?" Lopez said.

"You don't have to. I saw the video," Sig grunted.

Alec waved for Sig to return to his place along the wall. "Earlier, when he said Marco was following protocol, it meant several things, one of which was that Marco was wearing his body cam."

"You wear cameras?" the chief asked.

"When we're on the job," Sig said from behind them. Alec turned just in time to see him tap the small black box situated on his chest.

"We've had too many people make claims about what we do, or don't do," Alec said. "It saves time and effort. I sent a message while we were talking earlier. My associate is making a copy of the relevant video and it will be sent to your office as soon as it's ready."

Lopez and particularly the mayor looked unsettled to know that this entire encounter had been filmed as well. Finally the chief sighed. "Very well. We can talk more once I've reviewed the video."

"Good. I w-want him prosecuted," Max said.

"Who?" the mayor asked.

"The s-store o-owner."

Alec couldn't have been prouder. Max was struggling badly, in pain, but all he could see on her face was fierce determination to protect her people. She'd taught him that. She was still teaching him that.

"I think we're done here," he said and stood. Max too pushed back her chair.

"There's still the matter of the items stolen from the shop," the chief said, although his heart didn't really seem to be in it.

"We buried them," Sig said. "They were friggin' body parts, you a-"

"That's enough," Alec snapped. He looked to the chief who simply nodded. "Sig, I want the transport ready by the time we're downstairs."

"Yes, sir."

Alec reached across the table. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "We appreciate you calling us first instead of letting the media handle it or… or the mob… or whatever."

Lopez nodded, shaking his hand. "Maybe next time you can call me first when something like this happens? It might avoid any more… misunderstandings."

Alec nodded. "Fair enough."

"A-alec?"

He turned just in time to see Max fall.

Alec caught her before she hit the floor. All of her muscles had gone haywire, twitching and contracting badly. She'd deteriorated from a tiny tremor to full convulsions in no time flat, and with extra tryptophan on board.

"Is she all right?" the mayor asked.

"No, she's sick," Alec said through gritted teeth, wanting to punch the man for asking such an idiotic question. "But she came anyway because she knew it was important."

"I'll call an ambulance," Lopez offered.

"Don't bother." Alec lifted Max in his arms, struggling a bit when contractions pulled her limbs in odd ways. "They won't know what to do for this. Our doctor will."

Sig was already holding the door open. Alec hurried out, barely waiting for Fred and Barney to realize they were on the move. The two wolves surrounded them, and Alec could feel they were displeased that Max was not in the same state she'd been when they'd handed her off to Sig's men. They were too professional, however, to bring it up while still on the job and while Max was in trouble. Alec would let them sort that out later with Sig. All he cared about was getting Max home.

The van pulled up just as they exited, stopped only long enough for them to climb in and then headed back to TC. Alec kept Max in his arms, holding her close, terrified by the quivering muscles and Max's pain filled eyes. "Hang on, Maxie. Just hang on," he whispered. "Almost there. We'll get you fixed up in no time."

Max's mouth was pulled tight in a pained grimace. She tried to raise her hand, but her muscles wouldn't cooperate. Alec lifted it for her and held it against his cheek. "S-s'ok," she managed. "B-been h-here b-b-be-f-fore."

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Been there, done that." He shook his head. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Max tried to say something else, but couldn't quite manage it. He silenced her with a kiss to her forehead and continued to murmur nonsense the entire trip back, anything to make him feel like he was doing something to ease the pain she was in.

He couldn't help Marco either, who was sitting behind him with several of his teammates surrounding him. Most Transgenics weren't good with talking, so Alec supposed this silent show of support was the best they could do. Still, it was his new team for the most part who had helped Marco after the riot, and Alec hoped they could do it again.

Barney radioed ahead and the gate opened just as they pulled up. They drove straight to the infirmary and Fred hopped out to hold the door open, snarling and flashing a perfect set of canines at Sig, who'd tried to do the same. They had old issues and maybe one day Alec would care, but today wasn't that day.

Alec carried Max into the building, straight through the old lobby and on into the semi-refurbished infirmary. Dr. Peterson must have been given a heads up as well because he was already waiting with a bed prepped. He was his usual scruffy self, but given the Transgenics' tendency to wake him at all hours of the night for odd injuries or other medical weirdness, it was no wonder he always appeared a bit disheveled. Nevertheless, there was never any doubt of his intelligence or the determination in his expression.

Alec tried to set Max down gently, but the convulsions didn't make it easy and she half fell, half flopped onto the exam bed. "Sorry, Maxie," he said in dismay, and held on to her hand while she continued to seize badly.

"What happened?" Peterson was young and technically a veterinarian, but he'd come to be their trusted resident physician. Because of the wide array of animal DNA in the population, he'd become invaluable, not to mention his ability to put up with their problematic temperaments.

"I didn't pick up on it soon enough, but she was already showing early signs of the shakes before we got there." Alec really could kick himself for being so clueless.

"And she didn't tell you." It was a statement, not a question. Peterson knew them too well, and Max and Alec in particular thanks to their frequent doctor visits.

"No." He gave Max a disapproving glare, while she was down and couldn't hit him for it. "When I noticed, she said she took some extra tryptophan before we left. It's not helping though, obviously."

"Any other symptoms?" Peterson asked. He was leaning over Max, checking vitals. Max was helpless to assist, or even to speak and Alec knew that was as frustrating to her as anything else. They'd spent too much of their lives feeling powerless, and when their bodies themselves betrayed them it was like Manticore sticking it to them all over again.

"I don't know," Alec said unhappily. "Not that she said."

Max cried out suddenly, her back bowing and pulling her to one side as a particular set of muscles drew tight.

"Max!"

Peterson seemed unfazed. "Hold her arm for me," he ordered. He pulled a rolling trolley closer to him and efficiently started an IV as Alec tried to hold her arm still for him to work.

The vet already had several IV bags hanging from a pole near the exam table. He quickly attached them and got them started, but there was no immediate reaction, not that Alec had really been expecting one. If Max had already taken extra tryptophan, this was going to be a longer process.

"How did this happen?" Alec demanded. "I make sure she has everything to keep the shakes away."

"I don't know," Dr. Peterson replied. "Give us a little time, ok?"

"Us?"

"When Barney radioed what was going on, I paged a few of the others to get their opinion. They should be here any time."

As if on cue, several more people in white coats bustled through a door nearby, two men and a woman, all looking intently at Max as if she'd just done something oh so scientifically interesting.

They were some of the doctors who'd been brought in along with the geneticists. Most had come out of curiosity, and scientific interest, not because they cared about their patients, and Alec was not in the mood to tolerate their fascination with yet another odd facet of Transgenic anatomy. He neither knew nor trusted them enough to leave Max in their care. Manticore had driven that point home again and again.

"Peterson, nobody touches her but you," he said fiercely. He didn't know what he looked like, but the three doctors immediately stopped where they were. One of the men turned pale and actually backed up a step. He was young, with dark blond hair, and looked like he'd been raised by rich, protective parents. He'd never been faced with the real violence of the post-Pulse world.

The second male doctor, a middle-aged man with thinning hair, stood his ground, but he was still as a rabbit with a predator in sight. The third doctor was a plump woman who looked to be about thirty with her fair hair pulled back in a severe bun. She was looking at Max in fascination, Alec's barked order the only thing keeping her from approaching.

"Whoa." Peterson held his hands up in the "I'm unarmed" position. "Alec. Nobody here is going to hurt her, ok?"

Dr. Peterson was using his soothing voice, which always kind of ticked Alec off, but he knew there was good reason for it. Transgenics were volatile at the best of times, and an already upset X-series with a wife in distress was a potential disaster. Alec didn't want to be soothed, though, he really, really wanted to hit something.

"I don't know them. I know you." Alec wasn't sure when it had happened, but he was now standing directly between Max and the trio of doctors. He had a gun tucked in his waistband at his back, hidden by his jacket, and he had his hand on the grip, although he hadn't pulled it yet. Max might not like guns, but Alec liked them just fine, and meetings with the mayor meant he was armed and ready to use it. Strange doctors looking at his wife who couldn't defend herself had the same effect.

"Alec, I give you my word, I'll be here the whole time," Peterson said. "I won't let them do anything I don't approve of."

Alec just stared them down. Somewhere in his brain, he knew he was being illogical. Even if these people had come to TC out of scientific interest, they were still able to help. All the same, a fellow soldier with the shakes, coupled with a bunch of doctors studying them like they were an interesting bug was bringing back all kinds of memories he'd rather forget.

"You need to let us work," the female doctor said, her tone clipped and impersonal, still looking more at Max than him.

Alec bristled, tensing involuntarily, and Peterson gestured frantically for her to stop talking. Peterson very carefully came around the bed, all the time keeping his hands visible, until he was standing between Alec and the others. "We will do everything we can to help Max," he said. "But Dr. Baker is right. Max is hurting and you need to let us get to work, ok?"

Alec stood there for several seconds, mentally ordering himself to calm down and, finger by finger, release his hold on the gun. Finally, he let his hand drop back to his side, although it was still balled in a fist.

"She'll be safe, Alec. If you don't trust them, you can trust me."

"A-al-ec."

He immediately turned and looked down at Max who was seizing badly, tears running down the sides of her face into her hair as she struggled through the pain. "I'm right here, Maxie." He took her hand again. "I'm right here."

"S-stop be-being a-an ass." She tried to smack him with her arm. It was a pitiful attempt, but it did what she'd intended.

"Ok," he said, taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly until he wasn't feeling quite so territorial and caveman, protect-my-woman murderous. "You sure I can't shoot them? Maybe I could just wing one as an object lesson to the others."

Her face screwed up into an attempt at a smile. "F-find J-j-"

"Ok," he said, "Ok. I'll find Josh. I know he'll be worried when he finds out."

"Good idea. Why don't you go find Joshua," Peterson sounded just a little too chipper at the idea of getting rid of Alec, "then you two can wait outside for a little bit while we run a few tests."

Alec squeezed Max's hand. With his other, he brushed it through her beautiful hair, and placed a kiss on her lips. "I don't want to leave you," he murmured.

"G-go." Max gave him the best version of a glare she could manage. "H-hold-ing d-docs u-up."

Alec nodded, chagrinned. "Sorry, Maxie. We've got a bad history of medical people I don't know giving you things."

She shook her head. "Hurts," she whispered. "N-need h-elp."

Alec knew his issues were getting in the way of helping Max and that could not be allowed to go on any longer. He looked up at the three waiting doctors. "Well, don't just stand there. Get over here and do something."

When they hesitated, he gave Max's hand one last squeeze then let it go. He backed away from the bed, and headed for the door, but not before he shot Peterson a look that said if this went bad Alec was coming after him personally.

Alec paced in front of the double doors that led through into the infirmary. It wasn't exactly a waiting room. It had once been a lobby for some sort of biotech firm. Now there were a few plastic crates where people could sit who didn't want to sit on the cracked concrete floor. Freak, Inc. was making good money, but first things first. Terminal City wasn't fancy enough to waste money on cushy chairs just yet. Not that Alec didn't have plans. He did like the finer things in life and thanks to their penchant for getting hurt, he seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time waiting here.

Someone had strung garland and lights above the double doors in an attempt to brighten up the dreary room, but they were doing nothing for Alec's mood.

"Why won't they tell us anything?" Alec muttered. "How long does it take?" He'd made one attempt to go back inside after finding Joshua and been quickly ordered out.

"Little Fella be ok," Joshua said for what seemed like the billionth time. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning back against the wall. "Has good veterinarian." He chuckled a bit at his own pseudo-joke.

Alec sighed and ran his hand over his face in frustration. He'd been pacing for hours now. Mole had stopped in to get an update and to report the video had been delivered to the sector police. Later, Chief Lopez had called to say that no charges would be filed against Marco, so at least they didn't have that to worry about.

None of which meant anything while Alec was left pacing out in the lobby while Max was alone with a bunch of blood-sucking idiots who wouldn't tell him what was going on.

Alec had gone over it and over it in his mind. He remembered setting out Max's tryptophan pills. Max tended to get busy and take them haphazardly, so Alec had started making sure she was on a more regular schedule with them, at least when he was in Terminal City. The thing was, he was constantly on missions. His team specialized in covert ops. They took care of the more complicated jobs, or the ones that required the most finesse. He could be gone for days at a time.

Alec had been on one of those missions and he'd just gotten back the night before. There had been a fresh gallon of milk in their fridge when he left, and most of it was gone when he'd looked this morning. Max shouldn't have gone downhill so fast.

"Josh, I'm putting you on Max patrol. When I'm gone, it's going to be up to you to make sure she takes her tryptophan."

Joshua shook his head. "Little Fella smart. Takes pills."

"You'd think so," Alec grumbled, "but evidently not."

"Little Fella like standing on own two feet. Doesn't like bossy people."

Alec pursed his lips. That might be the understatement of the decade. Max definitely didn't like being ordered around. The apparent result was that her desire to stand on her own metaphorical feet, had resulted in her inability to stand on her own literal feet.

"I don't care if she doesn't like it," Alec said. "She's going to have to listen to us about this."

"Joshua trust Max," her friend said evenly. "Wait for doctors. Then we know."

"How are you so calm?" Alec demanded. He'd expected Josh to be all doggy and worried and chasing his tail, so to speak, until they figured out what was up with Max.

Joshua smiled, all of his teeth showing. "Alec upset enough for both of us."

Alec rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure when Josh had become their resident Zen philosopher, but at the moment Alec couldn't tolerate the wait-and-see approach. Especially when he couldn't see her. It was making him crazy.

Joshua lumbered up from the floor. "Joshua go check on Marco while wait. Marco need friend, too."

Alec nodded. Earlier, Sig had brought Marco in to let Dr. Peterson look him over, then taken him back to his apartment. Marco was still quiet, too quiet. It was a long time since the riot, but there would always be wounds. The shop owner had managed to reopen those old injuries and it would take time for them to scab over again. Joshua had helped him early on when Marco had lost his brother. He had a team now with Sig and his crew. He had new brothers who could help him, but Josh was his friend, too, and any help was good help. Alec hadn't understood that before Max.

"Let me know if he needs anything," Alec said.

Joshua walked to Alec and wrapped him in a bone-crushing bear hug. Alec had to fight not to shrug his friend off. Joshua just didn't understand that Alec didn't want anyone comforting him but Max. "Doctor good man. Help Max soon."

"Sure, Big Fella. I'll call when I know something."

Joshua clapped him on the back hard enough it nearly made his teeth rattle and then hurried out to lend his own particular brand of comfort to another blighted soul. Alec had never understood how someone who'd been treated as badly as Joshua could have such kindness or such a positive outlook for the future. For that matter, he'd never understood Max and her unswerving faith that they could win, or that things could get better.

Alec's life had been crap. It had always been crap. The first time he'd found just a tiny little inkling of hope for something better, Rachel had been summarily ripped away from him. A few times since then it had happened again and each time he'd been taught that nothing in life was fair and that hoping for something better was a pipe dream.

Then he'd found Max, and miracle of miracles, she'd decided not only was Alec worth saving, but he was worth loving. Each and every day Alec feared she would be taken from him. He was fiercely determined to keep that from happening, but life had always taught him his plans were bound for eventual failure.

Now Max was lying in the next room, something was badly wrong, and they wouldn't even let him see her.

"Alec?"

He whipped around to find Dr. Peterson standing with the double doors open just far enough for him to stick his head out.

"You're wearing a hole in the cement out here. You ready to come back?" He held the door open wider and stood out of the way.

Alec didn't need to be asked twice. He blurred past the veterinarian, past the now empty exam area, to the room beyond where there were several cots set up for those who needed longer stays than just a visit with the doctors.

Max was lying on the bed closest to the door. She was on her side, facing him, wearing a hospital gown, and covered with a sterile white blanket. She was still attached to an IV and several bags of fluids were being administered, but even at a glance, Alec could already see that her tremors had quieted.

Alec skidded to a halt at her side and dropped to his knees next to the low cot. "Max?" he said worriedly. She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes standing out against her too pale skin. He was used to her honeyed coloring and it was particularly unsettling to see her without it.

Max's eyes opened slowly and took a few extra seconds to focus. "Hey," she said, tiredly. "You ok?"

"Am I ok?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I'm supposed to be the one asking you that."

She shrugged, sort of, hampered by the blanket and that she had yet to move from her original spot on the cot. "Doc was afraid you were gonna go nuts. Says you've been prowling around like a caged animal." Her lips twisted in amusement. "Plus you threatened to wing a doctor to set an example."

"What can I say? I'm a problem child." He smoothed her hair back from her forehead and noticed her temp seemed a little lower than normal. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "Like I want to burn down Manticore all over again."

"I think there are still a few buildings out there. We could take a field trip."

Max huffed out a tired laugh. Suddenly a shuddering contraction rippled through her body and Max reached out blindly for his hand.

"Hold on, I'll get Peterson."

"No," Max stopped him. "Stay. He s-says they're residual. Just need some time to shake 'em all off."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Shake 'em off? Is that supposed to be funny?"

"You know Peterson," she replied dryly. "He's a barrel of laughs."

"I am," the vet said from the doorway, his arms crossed. "Not that any of you would know that. The only time I see any of you, somebody's dying and the rest of you are threatening to rip me limb from limb if I don't fix it in the next ten seconds."

Alec raised his eyebrows. "We're high strung?"

"You can say that again," Peterson chuffed.

"We're high strung," Max and Alec chorused together.

Peterson rolled his eyes at their antics. "Now who's a barrel of laughs?"

"We are, when we're not threatening to rip people limb from limb," Alec answered, almost merrily. He was feeling practically lightheaded after spending so long pacing and worrying and coming up with every awful scenario his mind could produce. Instead, Max was lying mostly quietly in the bed, exhausted, but better.

"So… pretty rare then," Peterson shot back.

Alec laughed, and it sounded a little too close to hysterical, so he tamped it down, forced himself to focus. "You want to tell us what you guys figured out?" he asked.

Peterson nodded solemnly and came farther into the room. He grabbed a rolling stool and began to bring it around the end of the cot. Alec turned slightly and sat back on his haunches so he could see the doctor, but could stay where he was holding Max's hand.

The vet sat down and rolled the stool a little closer. "You're ok, Max, for now, but we're going to have to monitor you very, very closely. You're going to have to come in every couple of days for blood tests, as well a series of other tests that we'll set up a schedule for. I won't say this is going to be easy, but I promise you, I will do everything in my power to help you."

"What is it?" Max asked, using her "I'm being brave," voice, and Alec hated both that he knew the sound of the tone, and that it was necessary at all.

"Did I get a bad shipment of tryptophan pills or something?" Alec had decided that was the most likely culprit. If so, he needed to start warning the others in the population who relied on them.

Peterson shook his head, still looking grave. "It's not that. I'm sure that under normal circumstances the tryptophan you were taking would have been fine to control the problem."

Alec's heart sank. It was worse than he'd feared. This wasn't just the shakes. Something was seriously wrong, long-term wrong. He had a brief flash of memory of seeing Rachel in her hospital bed, her body slowly failing.

"Just spit it out, Doc," Max said. "Wouldn't be the first time my body's gone haywire."

Alec looked to Max and gave her an encouraging nod. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it." Max gave his hand a reassuring squeeze in reply.

"Well, Alec… it looks like you're going to have to triple the amount of tryptophan you bring in for Max."

"Triple it?"

Peterson nodded. "Yes, for the next… oh… seven and half months, give or take. But pretty close."

That made no sense. Why would he need it just for a set amount of time? "Seven and a half mo-"

No. It couldn't be. The doctors had said it was nearly impossible.

The vet's grave expression faded and he broke into a wide smile. He clapped Alec on the shoulder and reached out so that he could place his hand over where Max and Alec's were still tightly clasped.

"It looks like you two managed a little miracle," he said. "It's hard to tell because of the DNA, but we'll start with a plan for a nine month gestation. Feline gestation periods are shorter, so if needed, we'll make adjustments as we go along."

"The shakes?" Max whispered.

"We think the baby must have the same serotonin deficiency that you do, Max, or something that's kicked yours into overdrive since the baby is at such an early stage of development. You didn't realize it, but you needed to be taking enough tryptophan for two, probably a bit extra for good measure. You were badly deficient when Alec brought you in, and a few other labs were off as well. We've had to work hard to bring your chemistry back toward normal. From what we've seen, Transgenic babies can be very demanding on the mother's body. We'll have to watch you and make sure the fetus isn't putting too much stress on you, and help along the way."

"How… how did this happen?" Alec asked. He felt… dumbstruck, lightheaded again, just…

Peterson snorted. "I'm pretty sure you two know how these things work, but I can always draw you a diagram if you need me to."

"Hilarious," Max said. "But seriously… how? You said that because of our DNA natural pregnancies were nearly impossible."

He'd explained it using mules. A mule was the offspring of a horse and a donkey, which for all intents and purposes was always sterile. Humans had babies with humans, dogs with dogs, cats with cats, etc. There were differences in varieties like a terrier and a poodle, but it was still the same species. With a cross-species mating, breeders did it to produce a stronger animal, or an animal for a particular purpose, but they'd only get one. In the case of each Transgenic or Transhuman, Manticore had used their lab to create hybrids of a human and another animal, at least until Max had blown the facility up. After that they're resorted to the breeding program, matching the DNA as best they could, but other than Gem and a few others, it had been an almost complete failure.

"You two were breeding partners, as I recall," Peterson explained, still smiling. "It looks like you won the lottery."

"So she's… ok?" Alec asked tentatively.

"We're going to do everything possible to help Max and the baby," Peterson answered more solemnly. "The other doctors are already working on a plan to help you and to ensure we're not missing anything. We'll watch you so closely, Max, you're going to want to scream, but it will be worth it." He nodded for emphasis.

"Thank you, doctor." Alec held out his hand.

Peterson took it and smiled. "My pleasure." He stood and pushed the rolling stool back into a corner. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit, but I'll be back for a few of those tests we need to get started on."

"Thank you," Max said. "I'll sit here for the next seven months if that's what it takes."

Peterson laughed. "I'll remind you, you said that, when the time comes."

He gave them another reassuring nod and then left the room. Alec could hear some of the other doctors milling around in the infirmary beyond, but he blocked all of it out. He didn't care about a single other thing in the world right now.

Alec turned back to face Max, and for several moments all he could do was look at her exquisite, if exhausted, face in awe. Max… his Max…

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Max demanded.

Alec grinned. He loved her when she was all commanding and belligerent. He loved her when she was quiet and worried. He loved her when she was seductive and flirty. He just… Alec loved her.

"Am I going to have to hit you?"

She was starting to get angry and Alec was not going to be the reason for her raised blood pressure.

"We're going to have a baby." Just saying the words was enough to make him lightheaded again, this time for a completely wonderful reason.

"Yeah," Max replied, a slight frown marring her expression. "How do you feel about that?"

Bringing up the breeding program and the sterility issue before had resulted in some ugly moments between them, but that was because of old Manticore issues. This… this was something else entirely.

"I love you, Max," he said. "At this moment, I couldn't love you more if I tried." He leaned forward and placed a less than chaste kiss on her lips.

"We're going to be parents." She laughed, as if in disbelief.

Alec laughed along with her, giddiness returning. "Guess I better work on finding some baby furniture," he said. "It's not exactly easy in these days and times."

Max smacked his shoulder with the hand he wasn't still holding. "Don't tell me. You know a guy."

Alec shrugged. "Well… I know a guy who knows a guy."

Max raised an eyebrow. "I hope he's better than the idiot who's supposed to bring our roofing."

"He will be, Max. I'll make sure of it." It was a solemn promise. And he wasn't just talking about a crib. For the next however long, Alec's job was to make sure that Max had everything she needed, when she needed it, and not a second later. Tryptophan, drugs, food, furniture, maternity clothes, baby clothes, bottles, diapers… Whatever it was, he was going to get it.

Max tapped him on the forehead. "I can practically see you making plans in there."

"You'll hurt me if I don't deliver."

"I think I'm the one who's supposed to deliver, here."

"Yeah," Alec said, once again in awe. "Yes, you are."

Max took the hand she was still holding, and brought it lower, resting their hands together over her still flat abdomen. He was going to be a father. It was such a completely foreign concept, he wasn't even sure where to start. He had no frame of reference for what a father should be. He'd never had one, never had any friends who'd had one, barely ever seen one in action except for on old TV shows. How was he supposed to do this?

"Hey… We can worry about screwing up later," Max whispered, and Alec realized she must have been thinking along the same lines. "Can we just be happy for a little while?"

"I'm happy, Max." Alec laughed. "I am so happy. I just… For once I'd really like to do something right."

"You will. We will," she promised. "And Mole will be there to teach military tactics. Josh will need a whole room for craft projects. And on and on. This kid is going to have a whole city of aunts and uncles."

"If Mole teaches our kid to swear and chew on cigars, I'll skin him myself," Alec groused, happily.

"Agreed."

"I just… I can't believe it," he said, astonishment returning and replacing his doubts. He was certain they would pop up again, but for the moment, he would let it pass. For the moment, he would simply bask in the wonder of it all.

"I forgot it was Christmastime," Max said. "Shoulda known it was time for a miracle or two."

Alec kissed her again. "It's a good thing you believe enough for both of us."

"For the three of us," she corrected.

Alec nodded and grinned. "I like the sound of that."

Max yawned and Alec was quickly reminded of how long her day had been already. "You should rest," he said softly. He released her hand and tucked it underneath the blanket before pulling the covers up to just below her chin.

It was a testament to how tired she was that she didn't even argue with him. She closed her eyes and settled a little more heavily against her pillow. "You gonna stick around?" she asked.

"They couldn't blast me out of here with dynamite," he replied. He moved so that he was sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the cot. It was low enough and he was tall enough that he could still lean forward and rest his head against the pillow as well, his face close to hers.

"Merry Christmas, Maxie."

"Merry Christmas, Alec."

Been a pleasure, as always. Thank you for reading! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a big hug for everybody.