Challenge #5 Added 4/21/02
As many of you know, 'tis the season for finals. So naturally this is when I get the yen to color coordinate my paper-clips, name every individual tablet of Advil in the bottle… and write fan fiction. I've never done it before. Never felt strongly enough about a show to warrant it. But let's be honest, if Alec doesn't elicit strong feelings then nothing will. Coming up with a plot, however, is way beyond my already over-taxed brain - so I'm taking one of the challenges found on Donna Lynn's site.
I feel I should stress the fact that I've never done this before and so don't expect too much.
This takes place before the S2 finale (which by the way, as far as Alec was concerned, sucked ass) but after Max comes up with her little ploy to keep Logan away and safe. When the story starts however, Alec doesn't know about it. Reviews are welcome, I like the challenge of trying to do better.
Oh and, last thing - Alec and Max SO belong together.
Disclaimer: You know the deal. Max, OC, Logan, Asha are not mine. Alec is not mine - a fact I weep over daily. They belong to Cameron/Eglee. Lucky bastards.
Challenge
Max, Logan, Alec and Asha go undercover as 2 couples wanting to purchase children so they can release them back to their parents and arrest the accused and guilty
Required
1) Max and Alec have to be play a couple and Logan and Asha have to play a couple
2) A vibrating bed must fit in to the plot
3) Logan has to walk in on Asha in the shower
4) Max and Alec have to fake perform in front of a camera. (What I mean by that is they have to pretend to be having sex somewhere in the story preferably when they know they're being watched on a camera in their room maybe)
5) They all must have pet names for each other like Max and Alec have one for one another and Logan and Asha have for one another
6) Logan and Asha have sex, you don't have to be graphic if you don't want too
7) Alec catches them in the act
8) Max and Asha have a major arguing fight over Logan and Alec
9) At the end everyone must have no ill will toward one another
* * *
Chapter 1
Had circumstances been normal the beeping at her shoulder would have sent a pleasant little thrill through Max's nervous system. As things were however, it only added fuel to the fire that was her foul mood.
"Twenty bucks says that's your ex-honey." Original Cindy said from her seat next to Max.
She shot her friend a dark look and then resumed her brooding. It was fun, she was going to have to do this more often. Sit in the near dark, with loud music booming, hunched over a bar, feeling sorry for herself.
"That's the fourth time he's paged you in the past two hours, Max. What if it's important?"
Original Cindy's ability to point out the critical at just the right moment was usually a trait Max admired in her friend. Tonight it was cramping her style. She didn't want to call Logan back. She didn't want to have a stilted conversation in which he tried to disguise his hurt and she tried to disguise her guilt. She didn't want to go save the world tonight. She just wanted to nurse her beer and wallow in her unhappiness.
"Evening, ladies."
The smooth voice came from her right, accompanied by a flurry of movement in her peripheral vision. It was a voice she instantly recognized. Without conscious realization her scowl deepened.
"What do you want?" She demanded.
"Oh, I don't know, Maxie. What do any of us want? Food; clothing; a nice stout ale; the love of a good woman;…"
She groaned and pressed her forehead to the cool wood of the bar.
"… shelter; understanding from those whom we love; world peace; for those who would be oppressed to look upon the shining face of freedom…"
He was only getting more loquacious, which meant he was really starting to get into it, which meant he was enjoying himself, which meant he was far from finished.
"Alec!" She slammed her hand down on the bar as she lifted her head to glare at him. His face was as innocent as a baby's. But his eyes - those wicked, maddening eyes - were laughing.
She set her beer mud down. Hard. And looked at Original Cindy with a tight smile. "You know what? Suddenly I can't wait to go to the other side of this room and make that phone call."
Alec watched Max stalk away, leaning his elbows casually against the bar, "She's really a very angry person, you know. Lot's of pent up aggression. She should definitely see someone about that, it can't be healthy."
"Can't be healthy for you, is what you mean." Original Cindy eyed him. "Sometimes I think you must have a death wish, boy."
* * *
"So what you're saying is that you want to sneak into a secret underground child smuggling ring tonight and be back in time for dinner on Sunday?" Under the circumstances Max thought she was keeping her cool remarkably well.
There was a moment of silence on Logan's end of the phone.
"Do I sense some sarcasm, Max?"
"Have you completely lost your mind, Logan?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice low enough that nobody around her would overhear but forceful enough that he would understand just how not-happy she was. "Something like this would take weeks of planning. Covers need to be developed, sites need to be scouted, plans need to be made, rendezvous routed. It's a logistical nightmare, you can't just go running off to make a weekend of it."
"You can take the girl out of the boot camp but you can't take the boot camp out of the girl, eh?" Her lunatic ex-not-quite-boyfriend-but-not-quite- platonic-friend-either actually sounded faintly amused. "Calm down Max, I know what I'm doing, remember? The past two hours that you spent not calling me, I've spent making reservations and contacts for Asha and I. This is just to let you know what's going on, in case something happens."
"You and Asha are not, I repeat, NOT trained for something of this magnitude, Logan. These people are not corrupt, lazy cops that can be bought off with a nice chunk of cash. They are professionals. And I mean that in the most serious way possible - we're talking Italian Mafia connections."
"So what do you propose?" An edge entered his voice, "Do you want to come with me instead, Max? Want to come along and pretend to be my wife?"
Ouch.
She closed her eyes reflexively, mentally rolling with the punch. Ah yes, there it was, in case she forgot for a nanosecond - guilt.
"Low blow." Her voice was quiet.
"Look, I appreciate your concern, but the plans have already been made. They're expecting Logan Wright and his wife Asha early tomorrow morning. We're talking about kids here, I don't have time to waste."
"Well, I'm coming with you."
"I don't think they'll buy into a bigamy story." He said dryly.
"I'll be your sister or something."
"They only accept couples - people looking to purchase a child."
Max sighed and shifted her weight, looking restlessly around the bar, "Well, I'll think of something, all right? Tell me how to get in touch with them."
"I don't think-"
"This isn't up for debate, Logan. I'm not sending you two in there alone, so drop it."
She could easily imagine the irritated look on his face as he rattled off a phone number and name. Tough. Without any recon he didn't have a clue what he was getting in to. It could even be a trap, though the odds were unlikely.
She hung up with a grunt and immediately dialed the number he'd given her. When the other line was picked up by a professional sounding female she automatically shifted her voice several innocent octaves, "Hello, my name is Maxine Penn, I'm calling to speak with Dr. Hansel."
"Certainly Mrs. Penn, may I inquire as to your business with Dr. Hansel?"
Logan had said she would get this question, he'd also told her what to say back. She answered carefully, "I'm interested in his research."
Minutes later Dr. Gregory Hansel was schmoozing her over the phone. "I would be happy see you this weekend and discuss my current research, Mrs. Penn. How did you say you heard about my project?"
"I close friend of mine told me about it. He knew I would be very interested. Him and his wife are actually coming this weekend as well, I thought we could all go down together."
"You understand, Mrs. Penn, that we prefer to only see people who are serious about my work."
"I understand completely, Doctor. I assure you that I am very, very serious."
"Excellent. I'll put you down for a room for two, and you'll be arriving tomorrow morning?"
"Yes." She hesitated, "There is a chance however, that my husband may not make it."
Immediately Dr. Hansel's voice became noticeably cooler, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we only see couples here. Perhaps you would like to reschedule for a time when your husband can be present?"
"No, no." She said hastily, "I'll speak to him, I'm sure we can work around it."
"Then until tomorrow, Mrs. Penn. Good day."
"Good day to you too, jerk-off." She muttered into the dial tone.
Great. Just great. Because of that sexist asshole she now had to show up tomorrow with a husband or forfeit Logan and Asha's safety. Where the hell was she going to find a husband in six hours?
"You know that, statistically speaking, you're more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider." Alec materialized next to her, propping his arm on top of the pay phone, "That's just incredible. I mean, think about that next time you're at a wedding reception. Dodging lethal little-"
"Why are you still talking?" Max turned and headed back towards the bar, praying to a God she didn't believe in that he wouldn't follow. She didn't have time for Alec and his mouth, she had to find a husband- Oh no.
Horror brought her up short as the synapse finally fired.
Oh. No.
Caught off guard by her sudden stop, Alec ran into her from behind. She barely noticed. Spinning around Max jabbed her finger into his chest, "This is all your fault." She hissed, "All. Your. Fault." Punctuating each word with a poke.
"Hey!" He grabbed her hand, "You're the one that stopped-"
"I mean, dating is one thing, that's bad enough. But married! You've got to be kidding me. I mean, how am I supposed to keep a straight face?" She tried to pull her hand free but he wouldn't let go. "It's going to be a nightmare. Between trying not to get them killed and you and your stupid smart remarks and saving little kids…" She tugged her hand again, "I'm going to lose all grip on reality." Tug.
Alec leaned in close and patted her shoulder, "Not to worry Maxie, I think you've already taken care of that last little part."
She ignored him, "Let go of me."
"Only if you promise not to poke me anymore."
"If you promise not to get on my last nerve."
"If you beg my forgiveness for being such a bitch."
"If you drop dead."
They stood there glaring at each other for a long minute, faces inches apart. The standoff ended only when Original Cindy arrived.
"All right, all right." She said sternly, insinuating herself between the two, pushing them several feet away from each other. "Enough, children. What was Logan all a'fire about?"
Max reluctantly broke her death gaze with Alec, "There's this job, he needs our help?"
"Our help?" Alec was all over it gleefully.
"Yes." She snapped, "Our help. He think he and Asha can handle it, but they're going in blind. They'll be sitting ducks if it goes sideways."
"Then I think," Original Cindy's voice was pointed, "You have more important things to be doing than bickering."
"Don't you know, OC," Alec draped an arm over her shoulders and flashed his grin, "Nothing is more important than our fighting."
* * *
TBC
As many of you know, 'tis the season for finals. So naturally this is when I get the yen to color coordinate my paper-clips, name every individual tablet of Advil in the bottle… and write fan fiction. I've never done it before. Never felt strongly enough about a show to warrant it. But let's be honest, if Alec doesn't elicit strong feelings then nothing will. Coming up with a plot, however, is way beyond my already over-taxed brain - so I'm taking one of the challenges found on Donna Lynn's site.
I feel I should stress the fact that I've never done this before and so don't expect too much.
This takes place before the S2 finale (which by the way, as far as Alec was concerned, sucked ass) but after Max comes up with her little ploy to keep Logan away and safe. When the story starts however, Alec doesn't know about it. Reviews are welcome, I like the challenge of trying to do better.
Oh and, last thing - Alec and Max SO belong together.
Disclaimer: You know the deal. Max, OC, Logan, Asha are not mine. Alec is not mine - a fact I weep over daily. They belong to Cameron/Eglee. Lucky bastards.
Challenge
Max, Logan, Alec and Asha go undercover as 2 couples wanting to purchase children so they can release them back to their parents and arrest the accused and guilty
Required
1) Max and Alec have to be play a couple and Logan and Asha have to play a couple
2) A vibrating bed must fit in to the plot
3) Logan has to walk in on Asha in the shower
4) Max and Alec have to fake perform in front of a camera. (What I mean by that is they have to pretend to be having sex somewhere in the story preferably when they know they're being watched on a camera in their room maybe)
5) They all must have pet names for each other like Max and Alec have one for one another and Logan and Asha have for one another
6) Logan and Asha have sex, you don't have to be graphic if you don't want too
7) Alec catches them in the act
8) Max and Asha have a major arguing fight over Logan and Alec
9) At the end everyone must have no ill will toward one another
* * *
Chapter 1
Had circumstances been normal the beeping at her shoulder would have sent a pleasant little thrill through Max's nervous system. As things were however, it only added fuel to the fire that was her foul mood.
"Twenty bucks says that's your ex-honey." Original Cindy said from her seat next to Max.
She shot her friend a dark look and then resumed her brooding. It was fun, she was going to have to do this more often. Sit in the near dark, with loud music booming, hunched over a bar, feeling sorry for herself.
"That's the fourth time he's paged you in the past two hours, Max. What if it's important?"
Original Cindy's ability to point out the critical at just the right moment was usually a trait Max admired in her friend. Tonight it was cramping her style. She didn't want to call Logan back. She didn't want to have a stilted conversation in which he tried to disguise his hurt and she tried to disguise her guilt. She didn't want to go save the world tonight. She just wanted to nurse her beer and wallow in her unhappiness.
"Evening, ladies."
The smooth voice came from her right, accompanied by a flurry of movement in her peripheral vision. It was a voice she instantly recognized. Without conscious realization her scowl deepened.
"What do you want?" She demanded.
"Oh, I don't know, Maxie. What do any of us want? Food; clothing; a nice stout ale; the love of a good woman;…"
She groaned and pressed her forehead to the cool wood of the bar.
"… shelter; understanding from those whom we love; world peace; for those who would be oppressed to look upon the shining face of freedom…"
He was only getting more loquacious, which meant he was really starting to get into it, which meant he was enjoying himself, which meant he was far from finished.
"Alec!" She slammed her hand down on the bar as she lifted her head to glare at him. His face was as innocent as a baby's. But his eyes - those wicked, maddening eyes - were laughing.
She set her beer mud down. Hard. And looked at Original Cindy with a tight smile. "You know what? Suddenly I can't wait to go to the other side of this room and make that phone call."
Alec watched Max stalk away, leaning his elbows casually against the bar, "She's really a very angry person, you know. Lot's of pent up aggression. She should definitely see someone about that, it can't be healthy."
"Can't be healthy for you, is what you mean." Original Cindy eyed him. "Sometimes I think you must have a death wish, boy."
* * *
"So what you're saying is that you want to sneak into a secret underground child smuggling ring tonight and be back in time for dinner on Sunday?" Under the circumstances Max thought she was keeping her cool remarkably well.
There was a moment of silence on Logan's end of the phone.
"Do I sense some sarcasm, Max?"
"Have you completely lost your mind, Logan?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice low enough that nobody around her would overhear but forceful enough that he would understand just how not-happy she was. "Something like this would take weeks of planning. Covers need to be developed, sites need to be scouted, plans need to be made, rendezvous routed. It's a logistical nightmare, you can't just go running off to make a weekend of it."
"You can take the girl out of the boot camp but you can't take the boot camp out of the girl, eh?" Her lunatic ex-not-quite-boyfriend-but-not-quite- platonic-friend-either actually sounded faintly amused. "Calm down Max, I know what I'm doing, remember? The past two hours that you spent not calling me, I've spent making reservations and contacts for Asha and I. This is just to let you know what's going on, in case something happens."
"You and Asha are not, I repeat, NOT trained for something of this magnitude, Logan. These people are not corrupt, lazy cops that can be bought off with a nice chunk of cash. They are professionals. And I mean that in the most serious way possible - we're talking Italian Mafia connections."
"So what do you propose?" An edge entered his voice, "Do you want to come with me instead, Max? Want to come along and pretend to be my wife?"
Ouch.
She closed her eyes reflexively, mentally rolling with the punch. Ah yes, there it was, in case she forgot for a nanosecond - guilt.
"Low blow." Her voice was quiet.
"Look, I appreciate your concern, but the plans have already been made. They're expecting Logan Wright and his wife Asha early tomorrow morning. We're talking about kids here, I don't have time to waste."
"Well, I'm coming with you."
"I don't think they'll buy into a bigamy story." He said dryly.
"I'll be your sister or something."
"They only accept couples - people looking to purchase a child."
Max sighed and shifted her weight, looking restlessly around the bar, "Well, I'll think of something, all right? Tell me how to get in touch with them."
"I don't think-"
"This isn't up for debate, Logan. I'm not sending you two in there alone, so drop it."
She could easily imagine the irritated look on his face as he rattled off a phone number and name. Tough. Without any recon he didn't have a clue what he was getting in to. It could even be a trap, though the odds were unlikely.
She hung up with a grunt and immediately dialed the number he'd given her. When the other line was picked up by a professional sounding female she automatically shifted her voice several innocent octaves, "Hello, my name is Maxine Penn, I'm calling to speak with Dr. Hansel."
"Certainly Mrs. Penn, may I inquire as to your business with Dr. Hansel?"
Logan had said she would get this question, he'd also told her what to say back. She answered carefully, "I'm interested in his research."
Minutes later Dr. Gregory Hansel was schmoozing her over the phone. "I would be happy see you this weekend and discuss my current research, Mrs. Penn. How did you say you heard about my project?"
"I close friend of mine told me about it. He knew I would be very interested. Him and his wife are actually coming this weekend as well, I thought we could all go down together."
"You understand, Mrs. Penn, that we prefer to only see people who are serious about my work."
"I understand completely, Doctor. I assure you that I am very, very serious."
"Excellent. I'll put you down for a room for two, and you'll be arriving tomorrow morning?"
"Yes." She hesitated, "There is a chance however, that my husband may not make it."
Immediately Dr. Hansel's voice became noticeably cooler, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we only see couples here. Perhaps you would like to reschedule for a time when your husband can be present?"
"No, no." She said hastily, "I'll speak to him, I'm sure we can work around it."
"Then until tomorrow, Mrs. Penn. Good day."
"Good day to you too, jerk-off." She muttered into the dial tone.
Great. Just great. Because of that sexist asshole she now had to show up tomorrow with a husband or forfeit Logan and Asha's safety. Where the hell was she going to find a husband in six hours?
"You know that, statistically speaking, you're more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider." Alec materialized next to her, propping his arm on top of the pay phone, "That's just incredible. I mean, think about that next time you're at a wedding reception. Dodging lethal little-"
"Why are you still talking?" Max turned and headed back towards the bar, praying to a God she didn't believe in that he wouldn't follow. She didn't have time for Alec and his mouth, she had to find a husband- Oh no.
Horror brought her up short as the synapse finally fired.
Oh. No.
Caught off guard by her sudden stop, Alec ran into her from behind. She barely noticed. Spinning around Max jabbed her finger into his chest, "This is all your fault." She hissed, "All. Your. Fault." Punctuating each word with a poke.
"Hey!" He grabbed her hand, "You're the one that stopped-"
"I mean, dating is one thing, that's bad enough. But married! You've got to be kidding me. I mean, how am I supposed to keep a straight face?" She tried to pull her hand free but he wouldn't let go. "It's going to be a nightmare. Between trying not to get them killed and you and your stupid smart remarks and saving little kids…" She tugged her hand again, "I'm going to lose all grip on reality." Tug.
Alec leaned in close and patted her shoulder, "Not to worry Maxie, I think you've already taken care of that last little part."
She ignored him, "Let go of me."
"Only if you promise not to poke me anymore."
"If you promise not to get on my last nerve."
"If you beg my forgiveness for being such a bitch."
"If you drop dead."
They stood there glaring at each other for a long minute, faces inches apart. The standoff ended only when Original Cindy arrived.
"All right, all right." She said sternly, insinuating herself between the two, pushing them several feet away from each other. "Enough, children. What was Logan all a'fire about?"
Max reluctantly broke her death gaze with Alec, "There's this job, he needs our help?"
"Our help?" Alec was all over it gleefully.
"Yes." She snapped, "Our help. He think he and Asha can handle it, but they're going in blind. They'll be sitting ducks if it goes sideways."
"Then I think," Original Cindy's voice was pointed, "You have more important things to be doing than bickering."
"Don't you know, OC," Alec draped an arm over her shoulders and flashed his grin, "Nothing is more important than our fighting."
* * *
TBC