Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Season 1 happens.

Alec was in his cellblock staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about anything, but it just wasn't working. When he was called into the briefing today it disturbed him. He knew there was an attack on Manticore, that the DNA labs were destroyed but he never thought that Manticore could come up with something that disgusted him as much as this. Breeding Partners. Having sex with anyone than….

Well he just couldn't even think about it, but his ever tortuous brain brought up the images: tripping over Max, Max smiling up at him in Crash, Max looking up at the star's, Max falling out of the window and him being doomed never to see her again, except in his dreams and nightmares.

The guard glances at her through the window in the door. After he leaves, Max saws at the cement and manages to remove one large brick. She hears someone entering the hallway, quickly restores her cell back to its usual state, and lies down on the bunk. She sits up when her light flips on and a male X5 enters her cell. He looks exactly like Ben. Max flashes back to seeing Ben in the church.

"Ben?" Max queried, could it be her dead brother, but his eyes, they had something different, a spark; she just couldn't put her finger on it yet.

Alec walked into the cellblock he was assigned to, he paused, he could have sworn it was Max; he started to gain hope, but she called him another name, that wasn't his name, not between them. After a few more seconds looking at her he decided this wasn't his Max, the girl in front of him was worn down and ragged looking, his Max would never let herself get like that, she was strong, and also she would never call him another name. This impostor had done her research very badly. Alec had decided this was test from the Manticore suits; he just had to show them nothing no emotion and he would get through this just like all of the other tests.

"Whatever, Well lets get this over with, huh?" He took his shirt off. Whoever said he couldn't take orders, pffff.

Max completely dazed by this sight had nothing comprehendible to say until he reached for the crotch of his trousers.

"What are you doing?" Max screeched.

"We've been paired off. I'm your breeding partner, do you not read your orders thoroughly?" Alec was amazed; she'd done a worse job of the research than he'd originally thought.

"We're supposed to copulate every night until you get pregnant." Was he going to have to dictate all of her orders?

"That's sick!" Max exclaimed

Alec was getting fed up of this woman not only did she not know her orders, she was preventing him from doing his own and doing an eerie impression of Max, he just wanted to do his business and leave.

"Take off your clothes." He demanded.

"Get out of my cell" She didn't know what caused his change of mood but she wasn't going to go all smushy just because he decided to grow some, there was still something about him though apart from his bad attitude.

"We have orders." He was fed up he was going to have to strip her himself, only when he started to approach he got a hard kick to his stomach.

"What the hell was that!" He looked up with complete disbelief in his eyes, had she just done that? She was looking at him back with a strange look in her eyes he didn't recognise it from Manticore but someone had looked at him like that once before.

"Alec?" She had finally placed those eyes and she couldn't believe it. He was dead, she was so sure, she flashed back to the night he saved her.

He bent down whispered in her ear, kissed her on the forehead and promptly pushed her through the window now less than a foot away from where they were standing.

Max screamed in surprise but for Alec who watched her fall from the window before turning back to those in the room. From the ground she couldn't see inside the room and she screamed for Alec to jump, to come down, to join her. The only noises in response were of fighting and gunshots. When it went quiet she ran, and ran. She ran for her life so that Alec's wouldn't be a waste. If he didn't die in that room then it wouldn't be long until he was killed for treason to Manticore. So she ran and ran. When she stopped she found herself in the clearing that they spent so long in and she knelt down and wept.

No, it couldn't be, it was impossible, she had to be an intruder but the relief and hope in her eyes would have been hard for a cold emotion solider to copy. No he couldn't believe now, not now, he couldn't because it would destroy him if he were wrong. He wanted so badly to believe. "Max?" he rasped, after all she had just kicked him in the stomach.