Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "Blah Blah Woof Woof" and "…And Jesus Brought a Casserole." This part takes place between "Blah Blah Woof Woof" and "The Kids Are Aiight," but is closer to the latter.

Next week it will be three months, Max thought as she sat on top of the Space Needle late one night. Three damn months since Zack turned himself in to Manticore to save my own sorry butt. I still can't believe that it's been this long already, but most of all I can't believe that he actually went that far. She frowned. I mean I can believe it in a way because I know that Zack would do absolutely anything for me and the rest of the family, but to see him actually do it…

She shivered a little. God, what are they doing to him? Well, Psy Ops for sure, those bastards. Hell, if Syl got a month in there when Dash had gotten shot and killed and they knew that it was completely accidental…what could they possibly be tossing at Zack right now? Max snorted. What did good ol' Deck show us when I had that lesson with Jondy, Krit, Eva, Jack, and some of the other younger X5s that one time? The laser, psychoactives, those clamps…love the pressure points, Lydecker! And I'm sure that they've come up with some lovely new tricks in the years since I was last in Gillette.

Max shifted in place. I know Zack will stay strong. When has he ever not been strong? He held it together for us when we needed him when Dash died, when Jack died, when I had that seizure the night of the escape and so many times it's hard for even me to count them all! He'll take whatever Manticore can throw at him and probably throw it back even harder right in their faces, too, because that's just what Zack does. She couldn't help grinning with pride. Nobody screws with him and gets away at all, much less clean!

Max yawned, stretched, stood up, and started to head back when she paused and turned her head around for one last look at the skyline. I can't give up hope on this. He'll bust his ass out of there soon. I just know it. With a nod to herself, she made her way back down the Space Needle and to her bike. She climbed on and rode quickly to her and Original Cindy's apartment and let herself in quietly, only to see Original Cindy sitting on the couch having a hot drink. "Hey, girl. I didn't know that you'd be up at almost four in the morning."

"Not by my own desire, that's for sure," Original Cindy said dryly. "I'm just sipping at the old Chamomile until I feel like catching a few Z's again. If you want any, there's still water in the pot and I left the box of tea bags out on the counter, so help yourself if that's what you're up to." She took another sip of her tea. "What are you gonna do, anyway?"

"I think some of that tea sounds like a decent idea," Max said. She went into the kitchen and turned the heat back on under the teapot and got herself a mug and dropped a tea bag into it. "After that, I think I'm gonna grab an hour or two of sleep. It's been more than a week since I last got any of that, so I'm due for it."

"Cool," Original Cindy said. "Where were you? Up on the Needle again?"

"Yeah," Max said. "Had to think some issues through."

"Did you get them sorted?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "With the quality and quantity of what I've got? It'll take at least another ten to fifteen years before I make a dent in them." She sighed as the pot whistled. She turned the heat off and poured the hot water into her mug. "I guess that can be said to some extent for most of the poor slobs out there."

"Wow, they must have been some issues if you're getting all deep like that," Original Cindy remarked. She frowned. "Let me guess: something to do with your sibs? You only ever get that sad when you think about them."

"True on both counts," Max confessed. I'm glad that I spilled at least some details about my life back in the day. I don't think I'll ever tell O.C. the nitty-gritty, but I need to talk about my sibs sometimes. "I miss them. It's been ten, eleven years since I last saw most of them and when I've seen Zack, Brin, and Tinga, it wasn't exactly under the best of circumstances."

"Well, Original Cindy can see where you're coming from," Original Cindy said. "It's only been months since the last time I saw any of my brothers and I miss them like crazy and I talk to them on the phone at least once a week. I don't know how you do it every day."

"It's not the easiest thing in the world to do," Max agreed. "There are some days when I just see something that reminds me so strongly of one of them, whether it's a person who looks like my brother Reese or something that I think would fit with my sister Syl's sense of humor. I remember one time not even a year after the escape when I was living near Las Vegas when I'd gotten onto a bus to go into the city and I saw these kids that were obviously brother and sister and the boy looked like Zack. It wasn't him, this kid had to have been closer to my age and he had different colored eyes, but the resemblance was enough, you know?"

Original Cindy nodded in understanding. "I'm willing to bet that's what you were thinking about up on the Space Needle: Ol' Soldier Boy."

"Can you blame me?" Max asked.

"Not a single bit," Original Cindy assured her. She took one last sip from her mug before she walked into the kitchen and put it down on the counter. "I'll wash it either before we head to Jam Pony or after we get back from there. I'll see you in the morning." She went into her bedroom and shut the door.

Max smiled. Thank goodness that Original Cindy's around. I don't know how anybody can get through without a friend. She finished her own tea and put the mug down next to Original Cindy's before she went into her room. She quickly changed into her pajamas and lay down in bed and closed her eyes and her thoughts went back to Zack once more. Good luck, Zack. Give them hell.

TBC