What's Next? -- Chapter 2

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 sipped her bottle of water in a daze and looked around her kitchen. I’m pregnant. I’m gonna be a mom. This is insane and incredible and wonderful and a miracle and absolutely scary as hell. She stood up to put the bottle of water back in the refrigerator. How am I going to tell Zack? How’s he going to react? She mentally shook her head. Get a grip, Max. You know your own mate by now. You’ve had a few conversations over the past year about having children, remember? You know how he’s going to feel when you tell him. She sighed and smiled a little as she remembered some of them.

“Good luck resettling Rena,” Max said to Zack as he put his jacket on and got his stuff together.

“Thanks,” Zack said. “She’s hasn’t given me too much trouble since before I moved her down to Texas when she was twelve.” He shrugged. “She probably won’t be happy when I tell her to go to Montana, though. She likes cities better and prefers to at least be close to one.”

“Has she ever lived in a small town?” Max said.

“I don’t think so, at least not since the beginning,” Zack said. “She was living pretty close to Dallas for those three years that she spent in Texas and she’s been living in or close to major cities in the Midwest since then. She thinks small towns are boring.”

“Like I said, good luck,” Max said.

“Thanks, Max,” Zack said.

“Have fun dealing with the children that are our sibs,” Max said.

“Yeah, it’s always a blast,” Zack said dryly.

“Hey, look at it this way. You’ll be prepared when we eventually have kids,” Max said.

“When we eventually have kids…” Zack said softly. “Wow. One day, we’ll be parents.”

“Yeah,” Max said. “When the time is right.” She grinned wickedly. “Have fun out there and get back so we can keep practicing the procreation deal.”

Max and Zack snuggled together in their bed. “I can’t wait until Zane gets in tomorrow,” Max said. “It’ll be great.”

“It’ll be a pain-in-the-ass for me trying to keep him and Krit and Wayne from killing each other,” Zack groaned. “And when they won’t be killing each other, they’ll be teaming up to annoy somebody else. Is it just me or does it seem like at least ninety percent of that time, the person that they’re teaming up to annoy is me?”

“It’s just you,” Max said.

“Seriously, I am looking forward to Zane getting in tomorrow,” Zack said. “You know how much I am.”

“I do,” Max said.

“I’ve missed everybody so much,” Zack said. “I know I’ve been the only one of us to see everybody who made it past the fence since the escape, but I still missed everybody. I might even have missed everybody more than any of us.”

Max nodded. “You’ve held yourself back from us since the escape because you wanted to protect us.”

“I was afraid that if I didn’t, I’d get too relaxed and let locations slip,” Zack confessed. “Not that I didn’t trust any of you, but you know how I am.”

“I do,” Max agreed.

“I won’t be like that again,” Zack said. “I’ll try my best not to be like that again.”

“I know,” Max said. She smiled. “You start now, then Anthony and Little Max and any other kids that any of us have will only know you as this only semi-hardass. When their aunts and uncles and maybe even their cousin Case tell them that you used to be this complete hardass, they won’t believe it.”

“Very funny, Maxie,” Zack said. He looked down for a moment. “Maxie, seriously, about children…I want them. I really do want to have kids one day.”

“I know you do. I want to have children also,” Max said.

“I’m almost tempted to start trying now,” Zack confessed. “But I don’t feel right about bringing a baby into the world right now. White’s breathing down our necks and we’ve just been chased here into Terminal City.”

“I know where you’re coming from,” Max assured him. “You’re doing what you can to protect whatever children we might have in the future. I feel the same way. This isn’t the right time for us to have kids.”

“It scares me how I feel when I think of what could happen if we did have a baby and White was still around and he got a hold of him or her,” Zack said. The look in his eyes was so fierce that Max got a little nervous. “You know how I feel when you or Becky or any of our other siblings is in danger, but my own son or daughter…I’m almost scaring myself, Maxie.”

“Don’t worry,” Max said. “We won’t have kids now and when we do, I won’t worry about them being safe because I know how far you’ll go to protect them.” She kissed Zack. “Relax.”

“I will, Maxie.”

Max heard Zack heading down the hall towards their apartment and practically ran into the living room and sat down nervously on the couch and waited for him to get to and inside their apartment. She bit her lip and stood up when he shut the door closed. “Hi.”

“Hi, Maxie,” Zack said. He looked at her, worried. “Maxie, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Max said.

“Max, you’re shaking,” Zack said. “Why are you shaking?”

“No reason,” Max said. “Okay, I do have a reason. I’m pregnant.”

Zack blinked. “Maxie?”

“Zack, I’m pregnant,” Max said. “Sasha recognized the scent that I’ve apparently been giving off for the last five days this morning and she and Rena walked with me over to the med bay and told Wayne and Wayne checked me out and I’m definitely pregnant. It was from when I went into heat almost a week ago. Wayne says that I’m fine and as far as he can tell since it’s still so early, the baby’s fine and I should be due in April since apparently we go nine months like ordinary humans.”

Zack was overwhelmed. “Maxie…” He pulled her into his arms, both of them crying silently with happiness. They held each other for several minutes before they pulled apart and it was another few moments before either of them could speak. “Maxie, I just...wow.”

“That sums it up for me too,” Max said.

“I can't believe that I'm actually going to be a dad,” Zack said. He looked down at Max’s stomach. “I never expected this.  It's...oh, my God.”

“Well, ready or not, he or she is coming in almost nine months,” Max told him.  She grinned.  "Personally, I'm hoping that she's coming in almost nine months, you know?"

Zack grinned. “If it’s a daughter who will turn out to be just like her mom, then I’m all for it.” He kissed Max tenderly. “I love you, Maxie.”

“I love you, Zack,” Max said.

TBC