Fic: Ever After
Title: Ever After
Author: LaughtersMelody
Rating: G
Fandom: Dark Angel
Disclaimer: It's not mine, but I still wish it were, even after all this time.
Genre: Romance/Humor/Family
Pairing: Max/Alec
Type: One-Shot
Spoilers: Takes place after "Freak Nation," so spoilers for almost everything before that.
Characters: Max
Secondary Characters: Alec, supporting characters and original characters
Summary: A story like hers could never have a happy ending…at least, she hadn't thought so. Max POV. Written in snapshots. Lighthearted.
A/N: This has been hanging around on my computer for years, but I never seemed to be able finish it. But, praise God, I wound up inspired to complete it for the christianfanfic het_marriage promptathon. :) (Shameless plug - it's running for the whole month of June, so if you're inspired, come and join the fun! All fandoms and het pairings welcome.) Also, this fic is fluff. Almost complete and total fluff, lol. But I like to think of it as fluff with an edge. ;)
A/N2: This fic is also a slightly belated birthday present for my very dear friend and sister in Christ, roselani24. Happy Birthday!
~*~*~*~*~
Ever After
Maybe Max had been fooling herself when she'd thought that a story like hers could have a happy ending. Maybe it had all just been wishful thinking, the last bit of naiveté that life had left her with.
Somehow, though, in spite of everything, a part of her had always thought that if the virus was out of the way, she and Logan would be able to pick up where they'd left off.
But they hadn't. Too much had changed…she had changed, and a year after the siege at Jam Pony, they'd ended things between them, for real this time.
~*~*~*~*~
It had been a long month.
The situation with the Ordinaries surrounding TC had reached an uneasy peace for the time-being. Both sides had pretty much adopted a "don't kill us, we won't kill you" policy, and negotiations were actually, unbelievably, starting to get somewhere.
Still, that was the good news.
Bad news: they'd spent the last few weeks trying to find legitimate ways - meaning no heists - to bring in supplies, so those negotiations weren't jeopardized. And as it turned out, government bureaucracy was a lot harder to deal with than angry gangsters.
Shark DNA or not, Max was exhausted.
Maybe that was why, when she'd woken up on the ratty, old couch someone had dragged into command, Alec's arms wrapped comfortably around her, she hadn't felt like moving.
But, she could admit, there might have been another reason for that, too.
~*~*~*~*~
The transgenics were free.
They still weren't "people" to most of the world, and they'd lost friends, paid in blood…but they were free.
Terminal City had stayed on-guard after the government had made the announcement, wondering if it was some sort of trick. But hours had passed…then days…then a week…and nothing. No sneak-attacks, no bombs dropping on the city, no Special Forces storming the perimeter.
That's when they'd started to believe that maybe, just maybe, this was for real.
It also happened to be when Alec had kissed her.
"'Bout time," Mole had grumbled when they'd finally broken apart.
~*~*~*~*~
Alec wasn't Logan. She knew that, and she didn't want him to be. She wanted Alec to be Alec, and she didn't expect candlelight dinners and pre-pulse wine.
But, well, maybe she was missing the over-the-top romance just a little. Hey, she was a girl. A genetically-enhanced girl, yes, but still, a girl. She had girly tendencies…sometimes.
And apparently, the desire for prince charming to sweep her off her feet was one of them.
Still, she'd gone into this thing with her eyes wide open, and she'd always known that Alec was not gonna be the type to wine her and dine her…unless you counted pizza and beer.
That was why, when she walked onto the roof of TC's highest building, she'd been more than a little surprised to find a table sitting near the ledge, Alec standing a few feet away.
Her eyes settled on the large dish in the middle. "Mac and cheese with little hot dogs?" she asked, blinking.
Alec shrugged. "Macaroni is pasta, isn't it? Besides, Josh offered and he takes puppy-dog eyes to a whole new level. You try telling him 'no'."
Max let her gaze wander over the rest of the table, shaking her head at the table cloth, place settings, and candles. They were her candles, actually, something she'd have to hit him for later, but right now, it was the thought that counted.
~*~*~*~*~
"Max, I swear, I haven't been there since that thing with the mermaid!"
Max ignored him.
"Come on, you don't actually think I gave her my number, do you? I have no idea how she got it. I can't even remember her name!"
Silence.
"You're not gonna let me off easy, are you?"
More silence.
"Yeah, didn't think so."
Max crossed her arms, and waited.
Alec sighed.
"Alright, fine. I'll do the inventory, and finish the duty roster, and write-up reports, and wash your Ninja every week for a month. Will that make it up to you?"
Max thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Deal." She pointed at the door. "Get started."
Alec sighed again, and trudged off in the direction of HQ. Max waited until he was gone before she let the self-satisfied smirk spread across her features.
She'd already talked to Sketchy, and yeah, he'd admitted that he'd given Alec's number to…what's-her-name, something-with-a-V…the last time he'd paid the Blowfish Tavern a visit.
But Alec didn't know that.
And Max was gonna milk it for all it was worth.
~*~*~*~*~
TV had never been Max's thing. She'd watched it some as a kid after the escape, but not much since. She didn't really see the point.
That had all changed after Alec had gotten her a TV of her own. Now, she and Alec spent most evenings in front of the TV watching pre-pulse shows.
Though, maybe it wasn't the TV that she liked.
Max leaned closer into Alec's side, sighing softly as his hand rubbed lazy circles on her back.
She could get used to this.
~*~*~*~*~
Max couldn't breathe.
How could he do this to her? That idiotic…infuriating…jerk!
Alec had been acting weird for the last few days, disappearing, dodging her questions, making excuses…
Fed up, she'd finally decided the best way to get whatever-it-was out of him was to catch him in the act. She'd trailed him when he left TC that night, her mind conjuring up just about every possible scenario.
But never in a million years had she expected this.
"MARRY ME" was scrawled across the surface of the Space Needle in fresh, white spray-paint.
~*~*~*~*~
It was a good day.
She didn't wear a dress, but Alec said that she looked good in anything. He didn't wear a tux, but Max couldn't take her eyes off him.
She didn't have a diamond ring, but a simple silver band now adorned her left hand.
TC didn't have much food to spare for the celebration, but the single-layer cake that Joshua had made was perfect, even if it was a little lopsided.
Maybe isn't wasn't the fairy-tale wedding ordinary girls dreamed of. But, then again, Max wasn't an ordinary girl.
~*~*~*~*~
Max had finally figured out what was going on after she hadn't been able to keep breakfast down. Or lunch. Or dinner.
It took Alec a little longer.
Four nighttime runs for pickles and ice cream and the "weird cravings" still hadn't sunken in yet.
She'd finally given up on subtle - subtle was overrated anyway - and just told him.
Alec hadn't said anything for a full minute. That had to be a record.
The look on his face made up for it, though.
~*~*~*~*~
She'd broken two bones. She really hadn't meant to, honestly. Maybe she should have listened to the medics and not insisted that he hold her hand. As much as she threatened him, she really did prefer the guy in one piece.
She watched him from her bed guiltily, eyes unconsciously drifting to the cast now visible beneath the sleeve of his jacket.
Alec caught her gaze and gave a small, reassuring shrug. "It'll heal in a couple weeks. Besides," he grinned, using his good hand to adjust his hold on their new-born son, "it was worth it."
~*~*~*~*~
She tried not to laugh. Really, she did.
But orange just wasn't Alec's color.
She looked between her creamed-carrot-covered husband and her pristine, innocent-looking son.
"What happened?" She couldn't help the incredulous note that crept into her voice. The point was supposed to be for their son to eat lunch, not for Alec to wear it.
Alec looked down at his shirt. "Casualty of war," he said simply. "Now, I'm declaring a cease-fire," he paused to hand her the spoon, "and making a tactical withdrawal."
She watched him leave the kitchen, smirking when she saw the orange glob stuck to the center of his back.
Apparently, good aim was genetic.
~*~*~*~*~
Max knew every single one of Alec's smiles.
She knew what the mischievous glint in his eyes meant when he smirked - usually because he had some smart-aleck comment on the tip of his tongue that she'd wind up hitting him for.
She knew the way his lips quirked when he grinned, the way his head tipped a little to the side, challenging her, making her want to hit him again.
She knew how to recognize it when he really smiled, when the expression reached his eyes in a way nothing else did, when something in him softened, if just for a second.
All of that was burned into her genetically-enhanced memory to the point that his expressions were as familiar as her own.
But there was still something amazing about the way he'd smiled at Alex's first word:
"Daddy."
~*~*~*~*~
Their three-year-old son peered over the top of the bed, watching the small bundle in her arms warily, the way she or Alec watched a mortal enemy.
"Come on, buddy, don't you wanna see your new little sister?" Alec coaxed.
Alex scrunched up his face doubtfully, but edged a little closer. "She doesn't look like me," their son said finally.
Alec frowned and looked down at his daughter. "I think she looks like your mom."
"Me?" Max shook her head. "Nah, with that hair, she definitely takes after her dad."
"Are you kidding? I'm telling you, I saw her glare at Mole. She totally takes after you."
Max rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
So what if most parents wouldn't have spent the next half an hour arguing about whose nose their daughter had? She wouldn't have had it any other way.
~*~*~*~*~
She'd been right. Their daughter Mara definitely had her dad's nose…and his lighter skin and blonde hair. That was getting more and more obvious as time passed.
But, unfortunately, she'd inherited certain other traits from her mother too.
"Mom!"
Max grimaced as Alex's voice rang through their apartment.
"Mara hit me!"
~*~*~*~*~
Alec probably hadn't meant anything by it. Knowing him, he'd only said it to get a rise out of her.
That hadn't stopped her from smacking him upside the head, though. Hard. Maybe now he would think twice about raggin' on her Ninja.
Even if they did have two kids for real, her motorcycle was still her baby. Or at least her third child.
End of story.
~*~*~*~*~
As time had passed, and her children had grown older, Max had discovered that genetically enhanced hearing actually had its drawbacks.
Case in point.
"Boys are better than girls you know," Alex was saying.
"Says who?" Mara challenged.
"Everybody with a brain, duh."
"As if!"
"Just ask Dad."
"But Daddy's not better than Mommy, and Mommy's a girl!"
"They're grown-ups. That doesn't count. Girls are dumb."
There was a pause, followed by a loud smack.
"Ow! Mom! Mara hit me again!"
~*~*~*~*~
Max used to wish that she was just a normal girl. Sometimes she still wished that…but not for herself.
Her ten-year-old daughter stopped in front of her on the playground, breathing hard, but grinning. "I did it, Mom! I blurred! Did you see me?"
Max nodded, and pulled her into a hug.
Yeah, sometimes she wished she could give her children normal.
But this wasn't one of those times.
~*~*~*~*~
Her son was handsome - she knew that. With Manticore genetics, it was pretty much guaranteed.
That was why, when a pretty teenage girl smiled at Alex, Max didn't think much about it.
It wasn't until Alec's ladies-man smirk spread across their fourteen-year-old son's features that Max realized they were in trouble.
~*~*~*~*~
If there was such a thing as a "girlie" gene, Max was pretty sure Manticore had spliced it out. Yeah, she'd learned to appreciate the girlie arts - they had their uses. But beyond that, "girlie" was not a description that really applied to her.
Still, she had to admit, there was something pretty cool about doing the occasional girlie-thing with her daughter: painting her nails, braiding her hair, shopping…
"Hey, Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I have a motorcycle for my birthday?"
Max smiled.
~*~*~*~*~
Max had never owned a camera. She'd never needed or wanted one. After all, thanks to Manticore, her memories came in surround sound, 3D, and hi-def.
So, a camera had always seemed like a waste of money.
But, when Sketchy talked his editor into doing an exposé on life in TC, he'd snapped dozens of pictures, including one of Alex bending down to talk to a second generation X6. The little boy's eyes shown with admiration, and her teenage son was grinning, looking a lot like his dad right then.
Sure, Max could see it all in her head whenever she wanted to…but a copy of the picture wound up on her desk anyway.
~*~*~*~*~
Alec paced restlessly in their living room, one hand running uneasily through his hair, the other clenched in a fist.
"I don't like this," he muttered for the third time.
Max didn't like it either, but Mara didn't need both her parents freaking out just because she was on her first date.
"Brett doesn't seem like a bad kid," Max tried. "He sorta reminds me of you."
Alec gave her a pointed look, and Max felt the implications of her own words sink in.
"Do you wanna take your bike or mine?" she asked.
"Yours is closer."
Max nodded and they were out the door.
With any luck, Mara wouldn't even realize they'd followed her.
~*~*~*~*~
At the moment, Max was not happy. The fact that she'd found out what was going on from Normal of all people, didn't help. Of course, that didn't stop the argument from springing to her son's lips.
"But-"
She cut him off with a glare. "No."
"But, Mom-"
"You're not cage fighting and that's it."
"But, Dad said…" The seventeen-year-old trailed off suddenly, a guilty look crossing his features.
Max's glare intensified. "Dad said what?" she demanded.
Alex shrank back a little and sighed, defeated.
"Dad said he's got a dozen bets riding on the fight already, and he'll split the winnings with me, 50/50."
Before Alex could say anything else, Max spun on her heel and stormed off to command. It wasn't until she'd reached HQ that she realized she had never even told Alex what his punishment for this was gonna be.
But she'd worry about that later.
Right now, she had a husband to kill. Slowly.
~*~*~*~*~
For a second-generation X5, the kid was awfully jumpy.
Max had to give him some credit though. He'd actually gone the formal route of asking their permission before he said anything to Mara. He'd even been all, "Yes, Sir," "Yes, Ma'am," "No, Sir," "No, Ma'am," and for once, Max hadn't felt like doing anything to stop it.
Besides, asking for anybody's hand in marriage was a big deal, especially when her parents happened to be the leaders of TC.
So, it could have been nerves.
Or the way that Alec had been pacing back and forth behind him like a cat waiting to pounce.
The way she'd been burning a hole into him with her eyes might have had something to do with it, too.
~*~*~*~*~
Mara's expression was somewhere between her glare and Alec's scowl. It was pretty impressive, Max had to admit.
"You threatened him?"
"Just little."
"Oh, just a little. That makes it so much better."
The sarcasm Mara probably got from both of them.
Max shared a glance with Alec. Alright, so maybe threatening the guy hadn't been the best idea, but what were they supposed to do? Just let him marry their daughter without telling him what they'd do if he broke her heart? Not gonna happen.
Mara turned to glare at her older brother, who was leaning against the wall.
"Why didn't you try to talk them out of it?"
Alex shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. I wasn't here. I was gonna ambush him in the alley."
~*~*~*~*~
"I don't get it," Alex said, dropping down into the chair across from them. "I was plannin' to ask Lucky to be my date for Mara's wedding. Things were going great. Then she just stormed off."
Max raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you say to her?"
"I told her she was a unique creature, unlike any other."
Max turned to glare at her husband, and automatically smacked him on the arm.
"Ow!" he complained. "I have a permanent bruise there, you know. What did I do this time?"
Max rolled her eyes. "Like you even have to ask."
~*~*~*~*~
The day of Mara's wedding had been surreal. Max hadn't thought that anything else could beat it. But this did, because the day Mara's son was born was the day Max actually felt old.
She'd never expected to feel old. There'd been a time when she hadn't expected to make it to twenty-five, and now…she was a grandmother.
She hadn't quite wrapped her mind around that yet. But, at least she and Alec were in the same boat.
Neither of them could stop staring.
He was a perfectly healthy third generation X-5, with a tuft of dark brown hair, ten fingers, ten toes, and as he'd proven earlier, a good pair of lungs.
"It's hard to believe," Max murmured, shaking her head.
"No kidding," Alec agreed, staring down at the baby in Max's arms.
There was pause.
"He has my chin."
Max rolled her eyes. "He does not."
"He totally does."
"No, he doesn't."
"Yes, he does!"
"As if."
Okay, so maybe it wasn't what Max had expected, but one thing was for sure: she'd gotten her happily ever-after after all.
Fin
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
-Laughter
Author: LaughtersMelody
Rating: G
Fandom: Dark Angel
Disclaimer: It's not mine, but I still wish it were, even after all this time.
Genre: Romance/Humor/Family
Pairing: Max/Alec
Type: One-Shot
Spoilers: Takes place after "Freak Nation," so spoilers for almost everything before that.
Characters: Max
Secondary Characters: Alec, supporting characters and original characters
Summary: A story like hers could never have a happy ending…at least, she hadn't thought so. Max POV. Written in snapshots. Lighthearted.
A/N: This has been hanging around on my computer for years, but I never seemed to be able finish it. But, praise God, I wound up inspired to complete it for the christianfanfic het_marriage promptathon. :) (Shameless plug - it's running for the whole month of June, so if you're inspired, come and join the fun! All fandoms and het pairings welcome.) Also, this fic is fluff. Almost complete and total fluff, lol. But I like to think of it as fluff with an edge. ;)
A/N2: This fic is also a slightly belated birthday present for my very dear friend and sister in Christ, roselani24. Happy Birthday!
~*~*~*~*~
Ever After
Maybe Max had been fooling herself when she'd thought that a story like hers could have a happy ending. Maybe it had all just been wishful thinking, the last bit of naiveté that life had left her with.
Somehow, though, in spite of everything, a part of her had always thought that if the virus was out of the way, she and Logan would be able to pick up where they'd left off.
But they hadn't. Too much had changed…she had changed, and a year after the siege at Jam Pony, they'd ended things between them, for real this time.
~*~*~*~*~
It had been a long month.
The situation with the Ordinaries surrounding TC had reached an uneasy peace for the time-being. Both sides had pretty much adopted a "don't kill us, we won't kill you" policy, and negotiations were actually, unbelievably, starting to get somewhere.
Still, that was the good news.
Bad news: they'd spent the last few weeks trying to find legitimate ways - meaning no heists - to bring in supplies, so those negotiations weren't jeopardized. And as it turned out, government bureaucracy was a lot harder to deal with than angry gangsters.
Shark DNA or not, Max was exhausted.
Maybe that was why, when she'd woken up on the ratty, old couch someone had dragged into command, Alec's arms wrapped comfortably around her, she hadn't felt like moving.
But, she could admit, there might have been another reason for that, too.
~*~*~*~*~
The transgenics were free.
They still weren't "people" to most of the world, and they'd lost friends, paid in blood…but they were free.
Terminal City had stayed on-guard after the government had made the announcement, wondering if it was some sort of trick. But hours had passed…then days…then a week…and nothing. No sneak-attacks, no bombs dropping on the city, no Special Forces storming the perimeter.
That's when they'd started to believe that maybe, just maybe, this was for real.
It also happened to be when Alec had kissed her.
"'Bout time," Mole had grumbled when they'd finally broken apart.
~*~*~*~*~
Alec wasn't Logan. She knew that, and she didn't want him to be. She wanted Alec to be Alec, and she didn't expect candlelight dinners and pre-pulse wine.
But, well, maybe she was missing the over-the-top romance just a little. Hey, she was a girl. A genetically-enhanced girl, yes, but still, a girl. She had girly tendencies…sometimes.
And apparently, the desire for prince charming to sweep her off her feet was one of them.
Still, she'd gone into this thing with her eyes wide open, and she'd always known that Alec was not gonna be the type to wine her and dine her…unless you counted pizza and beer.
That was why, when she walked onto the roof of TC's highest building, she'd been more than a little surprised to find a table sitting near the ledge, Alec standing a few feet away.
Her eyes settled on the large dish in the middle. "Mac and cheese with little hot dogs?" she asked, blinking.
Alec shrugged. "Macaroni is pasta, isn't it? Besides, Josh offered and he takes puppy-dog eyes to a whole new level. You try telling him 'no'."
Max let her gaze wander over the rest of the table, shaking her head at the table cloth, place settings, and candles. They were her candles, actually, something she'd have to hit him for later, but right now, it was the thought that counted.
~*~*~*~*~
"Max, I swear, I haven't been there since that thing with the mermaid!"
Max ignored him.
"Come on, you don't actually think I gave her my number, do you? I have no idea how she got it. I can't even remember her name!"
Silence.
"You're not gonna let me off easy, are you?"
More silence.
"Yeah, didn't think so."
Max crossed her arms, and waited.
Alec sighed.
"Alright, fine. I'll do the inventory, and finish the duty roster, and write-up reports, and wash your Ninja every week for a month. Will that make it up to you?"
Max thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Deal." She pointed at the door. "Get started."
Alec sighed again, and trudged off in the direction of HQ. Max waited until he was gone before she let the self-satisfied smirk spread across her features.
She'd already talked to Sketchy, and yeah, he'd admitted that he'd given Alec's number to…what's-her-name, something-with-a-V…the last time he'd paid the Blowfish Tavern a visit.
But Alec didn't know that.
And Max was gonna milk it for all it was worth.
~*~*~*~*~
TV had never been Max's thing. She'd watched it some as a kid after the escape, but not much since. She didn't really see the point.
That had all changed after Alec had gotten her a TV of her own. Now, she and Alec spent most evenings in front of the TV watching pre-pulse shows.
Though, maybe it wasn't the TV that she liked.
Max leaned closer into Alec's side, sighing softly as his hand rubbed lazy circles on her back.
She could get used to this.
~*~*~*~*~
Max couldn't breathe.
How could he do this to her? That idiotic…infuriating…jerk!
Alec had been acting weird for the last few days, disappearing, dodging her questions, making excuses…
Fed up, she'd finally decided the best way to get whatever-it-was out of him was to catch him in the act. She'd trailed him when he left TC that night, her mind conjuring up just about every possible scenario.
But never in a million years had she expected this.
"MARRY ME" was scrawled across the surface of the Space Needle in fresh, white spray-paint.
~*~*~*~*~
It was a good day.
She didn't wear a dress, but Alec said that she looked good in anything. He didn't wear a tux, but Max couldn't take her eyes off him.
She didn't have a diamond ring, but a simple silver band now adorned her left hand.
TC didn't have much food to spare for the celebration, but the single-layer cake that Joshua had made was perfect, even if it was a little lopsided.
Maybe isn't wasn't the fairy-tale wedding ordinary girls dreamed of. But, then again, Max wasn't an ordinary girl.
~*~*~*~*~
Max had finally figured out what was going on after she hadn't been able to keep breakfast down. Or lunch. Or dinner.
It took Alec a little longer.
Four nighttime runs for pickles and ice cream and the "weird cravings" still hadn't sunken in yet.
She'd finally given up on subtle - subtle was overrated anyway - and just told him.
Alec hadn't said anything for a full minute. That had to be a record.
The look on his face made up for it, though.
~*~*~*~*~
She'd broken two bones. She really hadn't meant to, honestly. Maybe she should have listened to the medics and not insisted that he hold her hand. As much as she threatened him, she really did prefer the guy in one piece.
She watched him from her bed guiltily, eyes unconsciously drifting to the cast now visible beneath the sleeve of his jacket.
Alec caught her gaze and gave a small, reassuring shrug. "It'll heal in a couple weeks. Besides," he grinned, using his good hand to adjust his hold on their new-born son, "it was worth it."
~*~*~*~*~
She tried not to laugh. Really, she did.
But orange just wasn't Alec's color.
She looked between her creamed-carrot-covered husband and her pristine, innocent-looking son.
"What happened?" She couldn't help the incredulous note that crept into her voice. The point was supposed to be for their son to eat lunch, not for Alec to wear it.
Alec looked down at his shirt. "Casualty of war," he said simply. "Now, I'm declaring a cease-fire," he paused to hand her the spoon, "and making a tactical withdrawal."
She watched him leave the kitchen, smirking when she saw the orange glob stuck to the center of his back.
Apparently, good aim was genetic.
~*~*~*~*~
Max knew every single one of Alec's smiles.
She knew what the mischievous glint in his eyes meant when he smirked - usually because he had some smart-aleck comment on the tip of his tongue that she'd wind up hitting him for.
She knew the way his lips quirked when he grinned, the way his head tipped a little to the side, challenging her, making her want to hit him again.
She knew how to recognize it when he really smiled, when the expression reached his eyes in a way nothing else did, when something in him softened, if just for a second.
All of that was burned into her genetically-enhanced memory to the point that his expressions were as familiar as her own.
But there was still something amazing about the way he'd smiled at Alex's first word:
"Daddy."
~*~*~*~*~
Their three-year-old son peered over the top of the bed, watching the small bundle in her arms warily, the way she or Alec watched a mortal enemy.
"Come on, buddy, don't you wanna see your new little sister?" Alec coaxed.
Alex scrunched up his face doubtfully, but edged a little closer. "She doesn't look like me," their son said finally.
Alec frowned and looked down at his daughter. "I think she looks like your mom."
"Me?" Max shook her head. "Nah, with that hair, she definitely takes after her dad."
"Are you kidding? I'm telling you, I saw her glare at Mole. She totally takes after you."
Max rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
So what if most parents wouldn't have spent the next half an hour arguing about whose nose their daughter had? She wouldn't have had it any other way.
~*~*~*~*~
She'd been right. Their daughter Mara definitely had her dad's nose…and his lighter skin and blonde hair. That was getting more and more obvious as time passed.
But, unfortunately, she'd inherited certain other traits from her mother too.
"Mom!"
Max grimaced as Alex's voice rang through their apartment.
"Mara hit me!"
~*~*~*~*~
Alec probably hadn't meant anything by it. Knowing him, he'd only said it to get a rise out of her.
That hadn't stopped her from smacking him upside the head, though. Hard. Maybe now he would think twice about raggin' on her Ninja.
Even if they did have two kids for real, her motorcycle was still her baby. Or at least her third child.
End of story.
~*~*~*~*~
As time had passed, and her children had grown older, Max had discovered that genetically enhanced hearing actually had its drawbacks.
Case in point.
"Boys are better than girls you know," Alex was saying.
"Says who?" Mara challenged.
"Everybody with a brain, duh."
"As if!"
"Just ask Dad."
"But Daddy's not better than Mommy, and Mommy's a girl!"
"They're grown-ups. That doesn't count. Girls are dumb."
There was a pause, followed by a loud smack.
"Ow! Mom! Mara hit me again!"
~*~*~*~*~
Max used to wish that she was just a normal girl. Sometimes she still wished that…but not for herself.
Her ten-year-old daughter stopped in front of her on the playground, breathing hard, but grinning. "I did it, Mom! I blurred! Did you see me?"
Max nodded, and pulled her into a hug.
Yeah, sometimes she wished she could give her children normal.
But this wasn't one of those times.
~*~*~*~*~
Her son was handsome - she knew that. With Manticore genetics, it was pretty much guaranteed.
That was why, when a pretty teenage girl smiled at Alex, Max didn't think much about it.
It wasn't until Alec's ladies-man smirk spread across their fourteen-year-old son's features that Max realized they were in trouble.
~*~*~*~*~
If there was such a thing as a "girlie" gene, Max was pretty sure Manticore had spliced it out. Yeah, she'd learned to appreciate the girlie arts - they had their uses. But beyond that, "girlie" was not a description that really applied to her.
Still, she had to admit, there was something pretty cool about doing the occasional girlie-thing with her daughter: painting her nails, braiding her hair, shopping…
"Hey, Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I have a motorcycle for my birthday?"
Max smiled.
~*~*~*~*~
Max had never owned a camera. She'd never needed or wanted one. After all, thanks to Manticore, her memories came in surround sound, 3D, and hi-def.
So, a camera had always seemed like a waste of money.
But, when Sketchy talked his editor into doing an exposé on life in TC, he'd snapped dozens of pictures, including one of Alex bending down to talk to a second generation X6. The little boy's eyes shown with admiration, and her teenage son was grinning, looking a lot like his dad right then.
Sure, Max could see it all in her head whenever she wanted to…but a copy of the picture wound up on her desk anyway.
~*~*~*~*~
Alec paced restlessly in their living room, one hand running uneasily through his hair, the other clenched in a fist.
"I don't like this," he muttered for the third time.
Max didn't like it either, but Mara didn't need both her parents freaking out just because she was on her first date.
"Brett doesn't seem like a bad kid," Max tried. "He sorta reminds me of you."
Alec gave her a pointed look, and Max felt the implications of her own words sink in.
"Do you wanna take your bike or mine?" she asked.
"Yours is closer."
Max nodded and they were out the door.
With any luck, Mara wouldn't even realize they'd followed her.
~*~*~*~*~
At the moment, Max was not happy. The fact that she'd found out what was going on from Normal of all people, didn't help. Of course, that didn't stop the argument from springing to her son's lips.
"But-"
She cut him off with a glare. "No."
"But, Mom-"
"You're not cage fighting and that's it."
"But, Dad said…" The seventeen-year-old trailed off suddenly, a guilty look crossing his features.
Max's glare intensified. "Dad said what?" she demanded.
Alex shrank back a little and sighed, defeated.
"Dad said he's got a dozen bets riding on the fight already, and he'll split the winnings with me, 50/50."
Before Alex could say anything else, Max spun on her heel and stormed off to command. It wasn't until she'd reached HQ that she realized she had never even told Alex what his punishment for this was gonna be.
But she'd worry about that later.
Right now, she had a husband to kill. Slowly.
~*~*~*~*~
For a second-generation X5, the kid was awfully jumpy.
Max had to give him some credit though. He'd actually gone the formal route of asking their permission before he said anything to Mara. He'd even been all, "Yes, Sir," "Yes, Ma'am," "No, Sir," "No, Ma'am," and for once, Max hadn't felt like doing anything to stop it.
Besides, asking for anybody's hand in marriage was a big deal, especially when her parents happened to be the leaders of TC.
So, it could have been nerves.
Or the way that Alec had been pacing back and forth behind him like a cat waiting to pounce.
The way she'd been burning a hole into him with her eyes might have had something to do with it, too.
~*~*~*~*~
Mara's expression was somewhere between her glare and Alec's scowl. It was pretty impressive, Max had to admit.
"You threatened him?"
"Just little."
"Oh, just a little. That makes it so much better."
The sarcasm Mara probably got from both of them.
Max shared a glance with Alec. Alright, so maybe threatening the guy hadn't been the best idea, but what were they supposed to do? Just let him marry their daughter without telling him what they'd do if he broke her heart? Not gonna happen.
Mara turned to glare at her older brother, who was leaning against the wall.
"Why didn't you try to talk them out of it?"
Alex shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. I wasn't here. I was gonna ambush him in the alley."
~*~*~*~*~
"I don't get it," Alex said, dropping down into the chair across from them. "I was plannin' to ask Lucky to be my date for Mara's wedding. Things were going great. Then she just stormed off."
Max raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you say to her?"
"I told her she was a unique creature, unlike any other."
Max turned to glare at her husband, and automatically smacked him on the arm.
"Ow!" he complained. "I have a permanent bruise there, you know. What did I do this time?"
Max rolled her eyes. "Like you even have to ask."
~*~*~*~*~
The day of Mara's wedding had been surreal. Max hadn't thought that anything else could beat it. But this did, because the day Mara's son was born was the day Max actually felt old.
She'd never expected to feel old. There'd been a time when she hadn't expected to make it to twenty-five, and now…she was a grandmother.
She hadn't quite wrapped her mind around that yet. But, at least she and Alec were in the same boat.
Neither of them could stop staring.
He was a perfectly healthy third generation X-5, with a tuft of dark brown hair, ten fingers, ten toes, and as he'd proven earlier, a good pair of lungs.
"It's hard to believe," Max murmured, shaking her head.
"No kidding," Alec agreed, staring down at the baby in Max's arms.
There was pause.
"He has my chin."
Max rolled her eyes. "He does not."
"He totally does."
"No, he doesn't."
"Yes, he does!"
"As if."
Okay, so maybe it wasn't what Max had expected, but one thing was for sure: she'd gotten her happily ever-after after all.
Fin
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
-Laughter