All of Us -- Chapter 34

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, 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.).

Max and Zack finally got back to their apartment very late that night. As soon as they had gotten back in, Zack sat down on the living room couch and closed his eyes. Max sat down next to him and took on of his hands and held it. “Are you okay?”

“Probably,” Zack said. He kept his eyes closed. “This has to have been one of the most emotionally draining days of my life.”

“I don’t blame you.” Max shook her head. “Your poor mother. Should I be surprised how Lydecker repeatedly stabbed her in the back or shouldn’t I be? I don’t know. I hate it how things get changed around on you just when you think that you know somebody or get a handle on things.”

“You and me both,” Zack agreed. “I’m not sure what to think about anything right now. My mind is just too exhausted.”

“Look on the bright side,” Max told him. “You and Becky are on a first-name basis with your parents now. Going from too freaked out to mention their names to first names in two months isn’t bad at all. At this rate, you’ll definitely be on ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ status with them by the end of the year.”

Zack smiled a little and opened his eyes. “Maybe. I guess we’ll see what happens with that.”

There was a knock at the door. “Are you guys up?”

“Yeah, and the door’s unlocked,” Max said. “Come on in.” The door opened and Rena and Zane entered the apartment.

“We just ran into Kyle and he told us what happened,” Zane said. “Man, I don’t know what to say to you.”

“I don’t think that there’s anything that comes close to being appropriate to say in this particular situation,” Zack commented. “I just met my parents face-to-face, found out that they were tricked into donating to Manticore, found out that they seriously care and actually love me and Becky like normal parents do, and found out that my mother has this whole history with Lydecker and is really the first one in the line to kill the asshole.”

“So it’s just another night at the office?” Rena joked, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled when she saw Zack start to smile.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Zack said.

“Zack’s eyes are so much like his mom’s that it freaked me out a little,” Max said. “He acts a lot like her.”

Rena grinned wickedly. “Zack’s a momma’s boy! Zack’s a momma’s boy!” She and Zane and Max laughed when Zack gave her the evil eye.

“Rena, I will throttle you in your sleep if you do not shut up,” he warned.

“You’ll live,” Max said. She smiled at Zack. “You’re acting normally again. You haven’t made that kind of a threat since…when was it...oh yeah, two days ago when you, Krit, Wayne, and I were doing more building repair and moron one and moron two started to throw tools at each other.”

“You gotta love those two,” Zane said.

“Yeah, and you gotta beat the crap out of them, and you as well, when you’re around each other,” Max added.

“We are not that bad when we’re together,” Zane insisted.

Zack looked at him skeptically. “Really? Unless I’m mistaken, I think Max and I nearly had to put all three of you in med bay the last time we had to break up one of your fights.”

“It’d be convenient for Wayne. He works there a lot as it is,” Zane remarked.

They all laughed and Zack’s eyes drifted towards the kitchen a picture that Max had put up on the refrigerator in the kitchen. It was an instant photograph of all ten of them that Alec had taken the night that they’d finally been reunited. He became quiet and lost in his thoughts and jumped a little when he heard Max trying to get his attention. “What is it, Maxie?”

“I was asking you the same question,” Max said. “Are you sure that you’re okay, Zack?” She looked worried.

“I’m fine,” Zack assured her. “I was just thinking. Family…we’re finally together and we have been for a few months now. I’ve known about Becky and me for almost a year and now she and I actually have a chance for a real family. We have a mom and a dad who treat us or at least want to treat us the way a parent should treat their own kids and we even have a half-sister and it’s…it’s like we’re rabbits and somebody is holding out a big carrot in front of us and it’s just barely out of our reach. I’m so close to having what people traditionally define as a normal family. Myself of all people.”

“I know how you feel,” Rena said. “I felt that way by the time that I had to leave my foster home. I loved both of my foster parents and it almost killed me inside when I had to leave my foster home. I actually felt what a normal life could be like and it was so close to being mine. I think my foster mom wanted to legally adopt me by the time that I left.” She looked down. “I wish that I could just call her and tell her that I’m okay and everything’s fine.”

“Maybe one day,” Zane said. He put an arm around Rena’s shoulders.

“Yeah,” Rena agreed. “That’s what I told myself. That’s what I still tell myself everyday when I’m feeling down about my life. I got to know what that kind of a life was like and I would make damn sure I would have it again one day. I had the chance and I took it and when I get it again, I’ll take it again. You’ve got this great chance, Zack, and when this whole Familiar-save-the-world bullshit is done and over with, you and Becky will both be able to take this chance.”

“Even before we left Manticore, we made our own chances,” Zane said. “We had each other. We figured out what family was and we made our own. All of us and our brothers and sisters.”

“Zane’s right,” Max said. “You and Becky are both lucky in the sense that your biological parents really are your parents. They are the ones who care about you and love you. For me, my mother is the girl who tried to escape from Manticore while she was still pregnant with me because she didn’t want to give me up. For Rena, her mother is her foster mother and I’m sure she considers the man who was her foster father to be her father. We take our chances, whether they’re given to us or we make them, and we don’t let go.”

“I won’t let go of this one,” Zack swore. “My brothers and sisters…and my parents…” He grinned and then yawned.

“You need some sleep,” Max said. She kissed him and helped him up off of the couch.

“We should be getting some sleep too,” Zane said as he and Rena also stood up.

“Together?” Max teased.

“No, we’re not dating,” Rena pointed out.

“Tell yourself whatever you want,” Max said, grinning. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“See you later, Maxie,” Zane said. He and Rena left the apartment.

Max helped Zack stumble into their bedroom and onto the bed. “Do you want to sleep in your clothes?”

“I’m too tired to care,” Zack mumbled.

“I’ll help,” Max offered. She crawled onto the bed and had just taken Zack’s jacket off of him when he reached and grabbed her and pulled her to his side.

“Thank you, Max,” Zack said. He kissed her on the forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Max said.

TBC