All of Us -- Chapter 51

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.).

“Three hours until we get this bitch started,” Max said quietly to Zack the following night as they sat together on their bed. “It’s almost time.”

“I know,” Zack agreed. He put his left arm around Max’s shoulders and pulled her close to him. “Are you holding up okay?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m happy that this is going to be done and over with but I’m terrified at the same time.”

“Don’t worry, Maxie,” Zack assured her. He kissed her gently. “Don’t worry. I’ll be okay. We’ll both come out of this okay. I promise.”

“I believe you,” Max said. They sat quietly together for a few moments until Max got up and went into the kitchen and got herself a glass of water. A minute or two later, Zack joined her in the kitchen, carrying two of his guns. Max made a face. “Boys and their guns.”

“I’m going to need these tonight, Max,” Zack reminded her as he grabbed a cloth off of a counter. He sat down at the table and began to polish them.

Max sat down across from him and shook her head. “I know. And no, I won’t take one so don’t bother to offer one to me. Becky already offered to loan me one of hers about three or four times today and I turned her down every time.”

Zack sighed. “Max…fine.”

“If I don’t have to worry, then you shouldn’t either,” Max said. She managed a smile which grew when she got one in return from Zack.

“Good point,” Zack said. He put the gun that he was polishing back down on the table and took out two small boxes.

Max glanced at one of the boxes and her eyes widened. “Exploding hollow points? Isn’t that overkill, Zack?”

“Maybe,” Zack admitted. “That’s why I’m putting them in this gun.”

“Oh,” Max said knowingly. “Your ‘nasty-surprise-just-in-case’ gun?”

“If it got us the victory over Unit 7 on that training mission we did the December before we left, then I don’t see why it wouldn’t work now,” Zack said. “This time I’m putting the real deal in it and not rubber bullets.”

“Yeah,” Max said. “Try not to use it unless you absolutely need to. Don’t use any of your guns unless you absolutely need to.”

“It might…okay,” Zack agreed.

Max grinned and tried to lighten the mood. “I really do have you whipped.”

“If you ever tell Zane, Krit, or Wayne that…” Zack teased.

“What? You’ll hurt me?” Max wondered innocently. “Hell, not that our love life need spicing up, but I’m always willing to try something new.”

“I give up,” Zack said.

They were quiet again for a few moments before they heard a knock at their door. “It’s open. Come in,” Max said.

“It’s just us,” Brin said as she, Syl, Krit, Jondy, Rena, Zane, Jace, and Wayne entered the apartment and went inside the kitchen.

“Hey,” Zack greeted. “Where are Anthony and Little Max?”

“Alec’s got Anthony,” Brin told him.

“Little Max is in the nursery,” Jace said. “How are you guys doing?”

“Considering what’s going to go down in a few house, not too bad,” Max admitted. She smirked. “Let me guess: this would be where you’d come in to try to cheer us up if we were feeling too down about it?”

“And everybody thought that you were stupid,” Krit quipped.

“No, just you,” Max said.

“Same thing,” Krit said.

“Syl, is it just me or has he gotten more full of himself lately?” Max asked.

Syl pretended to think about it. “Now that I think about it, you’re right, Maxie.”

“Self-confidence is a healthy thing to have,” Wayne said, grinning wickedly.

Zane nodded. “Definitely. I can’t imagine myself without self-confidence.”

“Yeah, none of us can imagine you without self-confidence, either,” Rena agreed.

“Gee, thanks a lot,” Zane said.

“Anytime, babe, anytime,” Rena told him. She exchanged high-fives with her sisters.

“Keep saying that, sweetheart,” Zane said. Before they could blink, he turned and pulled Rena into a deep kiss. “What do you have to say about my self-confidence now, Rena?”

“I say that I’m getting seriously turned on by it right now,” Rena said.

Several of the others groaned. “Whatever you do, don’t do it in front of us,” Krit pleaded.

“Oh? This from the guy who’s porno stash I happened to come across by accident the last time I stopped by his apartment to visit with Syl and whose stash happened to contain gems with titles such as—“ Jace started to say.

“Nobody needs to know the exact contents of Krit’s porno collection,” Syl interrupted.

“Agreed,” Krit said immediately.

“But I’ll tell them anyway,” Syl said. She opened her mouth to continue, but Krit quickly spoke up before Syl could.

“Okay, I’m sorry for leaving the toilet seat up and never remembering to put it back up. I promise on everything that’s holy that I will never do that again.” Krit glared at the others, who were either grinning like maniacs or laughing hysterically. “It’s not that funny and I am not as whipped as you apparently like to think that I am.”

“You are,” Wayne said.

“I am not,” Krit countered.

“You are,” Zane agreed.

“I am not,” Krit insisted.

Max opened her mouth to say something but stopped and looked down for a moment. Zack looked at her, concerned. “Are you okay, Maxie? What are you thinking?”

“I was thinking of Tinga,” Max said softly. “And the others, too. I miss them so much, but I know they’re going to be there tomorrow watching over us.”

“With ten guardian angels, how can you miss?” Jondy joked, but she had the same wistful look in her eyes that Max did. “Especially those ten. How tenacious were they or what?”

“Oh they were,” Zane said. “Ben and Kenny were two of the most stubborn guys ever created. We’re all stubborn as hell in one way or another.” He grinned and pointed to Max and Zack. “I think the only people that were even more stubborn than Ben and Kenny, at least in Gillette, are those two.”

“It’s done and over with, then,” Brin declared. “I’ve never had the honor of being face-to-face with White, but there’s no way in hell that he can be more stubborn or tenacious than Zack and Max, especially when they’re together. He doesn’t have a chance in hell.”

Max nodded and grinned. “Damn straight.”