Shelf Life - Chapter XVI

by Infie

---

Previously, in Shelf Life

"Captain..." His voice sounded like it belonged to someone else. Someone calm.

"Nothing to stop it this time." Andrews' eyelids fluttered closed. Alec's hand tightened, and his oldest friend's eyes re-opened. "494..." He smiled crookedly. "Alec." Alec's eyes stung and he blinked rapidly, fighting to hold Andrews' gaze and not lose it behind a blur of tears. "Thank you for my second chance. I'm proud of you."

"You're the only one I ever wanted to be," Alec replied softly, cupping Andrew's head with his free hand. Andrews drew one long breath, shuddering with pain.

There were no more.

---

When Zane awoke, Alec was waiting.

He'd traded off with Max, Rhys, Johan, Joshua... They had all taken turns watching Zane through the four long days it had taken him to stabilize. He'd been pulled out of the change too quickly, implanted too abruptly, beaten too severely. Then, when Rhys had lifted him for the final run to safety, they'd found the bullet wound.

Alec could still hear the anguished moan Max had given upon seeing the pool of thick blood on the floor, could still feel the goosebumps it had raised on his skin. Just as he could still see Johan carrying Andrews' body through the door with a gentleness he'd never seen in the other man before. The click of the door closing behind all of them had punctuated the moment with finality.

He now hated that noise.

Without an implant to stop it, the bullet that had taken Andrews' life had passed through him and buried itself in Zane's upper chest. Zane's implant protected him from pain, but could do nothing against the infection that raged through his all-too-human body. It had been a very tense few days, rivalling those of Rhys' procedure. Max's taut face and frightened eyes had made it even worse, knowing that he was unable to offer her peace beyond a strong shoulder and warm arms. She'd seemed grateful for them, though.

The ordeal had stripped weight from Zane's frame until he was almost as slim as he'd been when they'd met. On his adult body it was too thin; he looked gaunt. His naturally pale skin was flushed with heat, and the black hair was tousled against Rhys' pillow. With the lab compromised, they'd brought Zane back to the apartment. Rhys had offered his bed instantly, and had widened the hole in the wall until it resembled a window into the living room to make it easier to monitor him.

He was finally sleeping with something approaching normalcy. Alec had recognized the signs of impending consciousness and had sent Max off to bed. He wanted to be the first one Zane spoke to.

Thick black lashes fanned across the too-sharp jut of his cheekbones. As Alec watched, they fluttered open for the barest instant, revealing glassy brown eyes.

"Zane." Alec leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees. "Wake up."

His eyes snapped open. The rest of him remained perfectly still, but an electric shudder raced up his skin. Awareness fairly crackled from him.

"Stand down. You're safe."

Zane blinked slowly, calm slowly sliding through his eyes. He relaxed deliberately, letting out a breath Alec hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"Alec." There was relief and something else Alec couldn't quite decipher in his voice. Regret? "Andrews. Sorry."

No. Grief.

Alec nodded acknowledgement.

"How long?"

"Four days."

Zane shook his head impatiently. "No. Since taken."

Alec finally realised that Zane was having trouble speaking through his dry throat, and handed him some water with a wince of sympathy. "Twelve since you were taken."

Zane took a long drink, then handed back the cup. When he spoke again, the deep voice was firm and strong. "Noah. How's Noah?"

"We took him to Gem's after you were stolen. He's back here now. He and Max are taking a nap." Alec grinned faintly. "Teacup is watching them."

Zane smiled, relaxing back against the pillow. He glanced around, noticing the room. "Rhys?" He asked, alarmed.

"Fine. He's been racking out in the living room." Alec reassured him. "You ready to talk?"

Zane arched an eyebrow at him. "About what happened? I don't remember much, man... I was out most of the time."

"Not about what. About why."

Zane smiled briefly. "Ah. That."

Alec's eyes narrowed. "Yes."

"It was a good plan, you know." Zane closed his eyes, white lines of exhaustion bracketing his mouth. "They focussed on me immediately. It was nothing to stoke that a bit, make sure they didn't start looking at anyone else." He shifted his weight, making the bed creak. "They have plenty of reason to hate you, after all." His face softened. "Or Max."

"That wasn't it though. You just wanted them away from Noah." Alec watched him intently.

Zane's lips twitched as he fought a smile. "That too."

"What else?"

Zane opened his eyes to look Alec straight in the eye. "We needed a backup plan. For the humans."

Alec opened his mouth to demand a better explanation, then stopped at the look on Zane's face. He was being honest. Humans, he'd said. Not ordinaries... humans. "The transformed transgenics."

Zane nodded.

Alec examined his face closely. "That doesn't fit. Not you. Not for everyone."

"No, of course not." Zane smiled thinly. "For Max if necessary, for me." He sighed and looked away as if embarrassed. "For Rhys," he mumbled.

"Really?" All of Alec's disbelief was in his voice.

"Yes." Zane met his skeptical gaze squarely. "I've known the guy ten years, travelled with him for half a year. I like him." He shrugged. "He has that effect on people."

Alec shook his head. "A backup plan... in case the procedure didn't work?"

A grin bloomed over Zane's face. "No. Of course it would work - Rhys was in danger. There was no other option than that it would work. No. A backup plan, in case it did work. If it did work, then once we found the real killswitch, we'd need a way to put them back." The smile twisted into something bittersweet. "A way to put me back, it seems."

Alec was staring blankly at the window to the living room. "A way to put them back," he breathed in awe.

"The Reds merged the Manticore genetic technologies with their own, Alec... then they applied the result to adults. Adults. Adults like Rhys, or me, or the others who were changed. We could be put back."

Alec faced Zane squarely. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Didn't you think it was important?" A thread of growing anger ran through his words.

"CSIS has been watching Johannsen's people since I handed over the Ashkovich compound. I offered information in exchange for a sub-cu transmitter." Zane scratched behind his ear. "I was expecting them to take me, and you to trace my transmitter and find the lab. Then we'd have all the necessary data to put everyone back."

Alec's eyes had widened as Zane spoke. "Good plan," he muttered darkly. "Except it didn't work. We went back to where we found you the next day. It was stripped to the walls."

Zane flushed with embarrassment, the blood standing out clearly beneath the light skin. Alec was surprised; it was the first time he'd ever seen Zane blush. "I miscalculated."

Alec just stared at him.

"I was going to tell you as soon as the last Red was finished treatment. I knew they'd be making a play for me as soon as they could. I'd been pressing them enough, after all." He shrugged. "They didn't wait for my timeline. Typically uncooperative of them."

Alec scrubbed both his hands through his hair. "They hit you before you had a chance to tell us. But if you hadn't been so damned secretive, we could have worked together on it. Could have protected you." He went for the jugular. "Could have let Noah not spend the last two weeks wondering where you were or if you were coming back."

All of the colour left Zane's face. "And Andrews would be alive," he said flatly, face tight and uncompromisingly self-condemning. It was another expression Alec had never seen. Hell - it wasn't one he'd realised Zane's face capable of!

"No." Alec bit off the word. "That wasn't your fault. And neither was getting grabbed." He sighed heavily, guilt creeping in at his attack on Zane. "I knew you were provoking them, and I let it happen. We all did. Blame is irrelevant."

The colour seeped back into Zane's face. "Ok."

"There are some things you should know." Alec explained Logan's death, Dalton's shooting, and the discovery of the killswitch codes. "We've run assays on you to verify what's been done compared to your original code. We've been through your Manticore records." He watched Zane closely.

The other man grinned. "I changed all my information in the database years ago," he admitted cheerfully.

"We had to go back to an original sample," Alec agreed grumpily. "But we managed to get our hands on one. Took forever, but we finally found a hairbrush with viable hair follicles."

Zane pursed his lips, impressed.

"You always interest me, Zane. CSIS, White, Ashvokich, the Reds... how many agendas can you serve?"

A broad grin blossomed across Zane's face. "All of them, of course."

Alec didn't smile back, just chewed his thumb. "No," he contracdicted softly. "One, I think. Just one." He tilted his head, consideringly. "While Rhys was hunting through the archives, he found some interesting things though. Would you like to hear them?"

Zane shrugged indifferently, but the expression on his face was suspicious.

Alec tilted his head back and recited from memory. "You placed in the top three transgenics for intelligence... throughout the entire program. You also placed in the top two for sociopathic indicators. After, that is, you spent a month in the sensory deprivation chamber."

"It wasn't really a month," Zane told him expressionlessly. "I came out for meals and a wash every couple of days."

Alec accepted the correction with a nod. "Until that point, you'd been scoring extremely high on empathy. It was compromising your progress."

Zane just looked at him, waiting.

"Why did you escape, Zane?"

Surprise chased across his face. "Pardon?"

"The whole escape was triggered by Max's seizure. Zack couldn't let her get taken and put down. But you... " Alec shook his head. "Why couldn't you?"

"I think you already know the answer." Zane turned away to stare at the ceiling.

"You hacked the computer system early, didn't you? You found the original DNA maps. And you found that you and Max had more in common than anyone else knew."

Zane blinked, hard. "We share the same mitochondrial DNA," he said, very softly.

"I couldn't figure it out. Why would you give up everything for Max? Why would you drop CSIS, drop all the subterfuge, drop your life for a person you'd spent most of your life without? Sure, you love her, but you didn't have to go to such extremes." Alec rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "There's Noah, now. We all know what you'd do for him. But back then... there was no Noah, yet." Alec leaned forward abruptly, drawing Zane's gaze. "There had to be something more."

"She's my sister. My blood, damn it." Zane told him fiercely. "There was no way I was going to let someone kill my sister. There was no way. She needed to be protected."

"And you did, didn't you. You protected her more than anyone could have expected." Alec told him gently. "I found it, you know."

Zane was suddenly, absolutely alert. "Found what?"

"Found the modifications you made to Zack's training videos." Alec smiled, shook his head. "All those sessions, all those times they played them over and over to train Zack, and they were reinforcing your message instead. Protect Max. Save Max. Love Max."

Zane scrubbed both hands over his face. "I was a kid."

"More, I think." Alec took pity on him. "I'm not going to tell her about that."

"She loves you, you know." Zane dropped his hands but didn't look at him. "Don't fuck it up."

"I won't."

"You sure did last time." There was a fine anger in Zane's voice. Alec immediately went on the defensive.

"Hey. She left me, not the other way around."

"Sure," Zane replied mockingly. "But you let her go." He paused a moment, apparently savouring the surprise Alec couldn't hide. "She was so scared and so embarrassed and all she wanted was for you to call... and you didn't."

Alec swallowed hard. It was true, he knew it. "I won't fuck it up," he said, and this time it had the sound of a promise.

"That's good." Now he did look at Alec, and his eyes were hot with menace and... something else. "I am very protective of my sister." He paused. "And my nephew."

Alec smiled. "So am I."

"I know. If you weren't you'd be dead already." Zane sighed heavily. "Fuck. I have to get used to 'Uncle Zane'."

"Nah," Alec said. "I think it's still..."

"Papa!" Noah shouted from the doorway before launching his small body full force across the room and into Zane's arms. Zane tucked the little boy against his body and hugged him tightly. His eyes closed and he buried his face against the silky hair, breathing deeply. The struggle on his face was stark, but when he set Noah back to look at him his eyes were dry, if a little shiny. "You left me for almost two whole weeks," the boy chided seriously.

Zane smiled, his face transformed. "It wasn't on purpose. And I'm sure everyone took good care of you." The Great Dane woofed from the door of the room. "Including Teacup," he added with a nod to the dog.

"I missed you, Papa." Noah snuggled back against him, burying his face in Zane's neck. "Were you ok?"

"I was mostly asleep," Zane told him honestly.

"Did you dream?" Noah asked innocently.

A bleak shadow slid through Zane's eyes and his arms tightened around Noah. "No," he said.

---

Rhys stepped through the door with a beaming grin and a handful of flowers.

Dalton took one look and burst out laughing. He curled over his stomach, holding his sides. "Hahaha... Ouch! Hahaha!"

"Now, that's the reaction I was looking for." Rhys tossed the flowers onto the bed at Dalton's feet, pulling up a chair in the same motion. He sat uncomfortably. "How are you doing?"

Dalton reached out a tentative finger and prodded the nearest blossom warily. It was silk. He snickered again, moaned at the resulting pain. "Now I know why everyone is always calling you a bastard," he gritted out.

"Truth." Rhys agreed amiably. "Hey - I wanted to be the first to tell you." A smile gleamed whitely in his dark face, making Dalton even more suspicious. "I found it." He dangled a glittering disc in front of Dalton's disbelieving eyes.

"It?" Dalton's breath left him in shock. "IT?"

Rhys nodded, a fatuous smile on his face. "It." He waved his hand back and forth a little. "Well - almost it. I found the cause. It's the same thing that caused progeria in the early and middle x-series."

"Progeria?" Dalton's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"A bit before your time, youngster. In any case, the original killswitch malfunctioned in a significant percentage of the X population. It meant they had to devise a way to fix it." He looked positively smug.

"And of course they left records."

"Yes! And I found those. They detailed exactly how the killswitch went wrong and the process to rewrite it. And," Rhys laughed out loud. "Exactly which gene combinations comprise it."

Dalton grinned in delight. "Really? How close were we?"

"Light years away. We'd never have found it." Rhys' smile faded. "I wrote a genetic virus to rewrite the areas and administered everyone within reach. We used Joshua's base sequences, since they're the only ones we know for sure are ok."

"Damn, Rhys. Damn." Dalton did a little victory dance in his bed.

"You've got yours already. We've had other losses, since not everyone was actually within reach." Rhys' eyes were dark.

Dalton's face tightened. "If I hadn't been here..."

Rhys stared at him blankly. "If you..." His face paled and he suddenly looked thunderstruck. "If..." His eyes suddenly focussed intently on the young man he'd helped raise. "You're a bloody idiot, is what you are."

Dalton frowned.

"And I'm not entirely talking to you." He shook his head in disgust. You've been shot and unconscious, and damned near died yourself." Rhys stopped at Dalton's wide-eyed look. "So shut up. Anyway, Alec helped."

Now Dalton looked positively stunned. "With research!"

Rhys shrugged. "What can I say? It surprised me too." He stood. "One more piece of news."

"What's that?"

"The folks who've changed. The Reds have a way to put them back."

---

It was, as predicted, a hell of a wake.

Transgenics filled every nook and cranny of what had once been command central, Terminal City. They stopped at the door, got their shot, and walked inside to party like they were still under the shadow of death. Most of the interior walls had been taken out to open up the space so that everyone could fit, and the entire south wall was taken up by a mural of hundreds of faces. The top was bordered by a single, continuous barcode containing all their codes. All of the transgenics who'd fallen from the beginning, to war, to hatred, to the kill switch. They were all there, thanks to Joshua's talent and need to express his grief.

Music pounded throughout the building, shaking dust from the walls. They'd foregone the bar in favour of large crates and coolers of alcohol and water distributed at various places around the floor.

Alec watched the celebration with mixed feelings. It was wonderful to see everyone finally out from under the cloud of fear that had haunted them for almost two months, wonderful to see them celebrate.

But at the same time...

His eyes settled on two faces that didn't fit the theme. Logan and Andrews stared out at him from Joshua's memorial wall. Logan had be painted as he'd been the last few days before he 'stopped'; he looked strained and tired, but he was smiling. Joshua had selected a different memory of Andrews, choosing instead the moment when Andrews had seen Alec for the first time at the apartment. His eyes were alight, and a wide, pleased grin covered his face. Joshua had captured them perfectly, and had given them places of honour on the wall; the only two humans up there.

He'd never be able to think of either of them as 'ordinary'.

His chest tightened and his eyes blurred.

"Looks like everyone is here," Max collapsed beside him, claiming the top of a crate as her perch. "If it isn't everyone, then we'll be heading for the streets again."

Alec flashed her a grin. "Haven't seen Johan or Zane yet." He thought a moment. "Or Joshua or Dalton, either."

"Zane's sitting near the door," Max gestured at the big man relaxing in a canvas sling chair, Noah on his lap. He seemed to be pointing out people on the wall to the little boy, who was practically wriggling with excitement. "Dalton's at the back, being doted on by half the unattached women here."

Once Max pointed him out, Alec could just identify the top of Dalton's blond head surrounded by a sea of other people. He was sitting on one of the crates as well, since he wasn't really healed enough for real exercise. "Ah," he replied. "That must mean that the other half is all over Rhys." Just then Rhys strode into the room, and was promptly mobbed by beautiful transgenics. He didn't look as though he minded.

"As for Johan and Joshua, I'm sure they're ok. Johan got his shot early, said he'd promised Josh a trip somewhere. I had the impression it would be a few days."

Alec nodded absently. "Par for the course for them."

They wandered back towards the door. Noah raced to Max, tugging on her hand urgently. "Mom!"

"What is it, sweetheart?" She dropped to one knee beside him.

"Papa showed me Uncle Adam! He's on the wall!" Noah pointed with excitement.

"I see him!" Max hugged Noah close against her.

"He looks happy, Mom."

Max nodded rapidly, clearly unable to speak. Alec rescued her. "Hey, Noah. I see a piano. Do you know how to play?" The little boy shook his head, hazel eyes wide. "Would you like to?" This time, it was Noah nodding vigorously. Alec swept him up and left Max to regain her composure.

They had worked through Chopsticks and the main theme of Beethoven's Fifth when Max rejoined them. Over her shoulder, Alec could see Zane watching them, an unreadable expression on his face. "Zane ok?" He asked with a frown. Max glanced back at him.

"He says he's feeling no pain."

Alec groaned.

"I know, I know. For such a smart guy he has a really poor sense of humour." They watched Noah play with rapidly increasing expertise, Alec with a grin of pride. Max shot him a sideways look, shuffling her feet nervously.

"Alec?"

"Hmmm?"

She cleared her throat. "Alec." It came out much more firmly this time. He turned to look at her fully. "Alec." She opened her mouth to continue, stopped.

"Max." He prodded gently.

Noah looked back at them. "Is it time?"

"Alec." Max straightened her shoulders as if preparing for battle. Alec's stomach dropped. Anything that took this much working up couldn't be good. "Remember, when I said, I was here, and I was in your life, and I didn't know what else I could do?"

Alec nodded.

"You told me that, last time, you'd had all that and I still left." She was struggling to get out the words, her face solemn. She couldn't look at him.

He could feel the blood draining out of his face. His stomach went from dropped to the beginnings of nausea. Across the room, Rhys' head came up, concern clear in his eyes. "I remember," he croaked. Nope, this could not be good.

"I think I found a way."

He stared at her, feeling as though he were surrounded by static. From the corner of his eye, he saw Rhys start towards them.

"Something we never had before." Her eyes came to meet his squarely. They were calm, glistening with a thin sheen of tears. In a single smooth motion she went gracefully to one knee, extending her hand to him, palm up. "Alec." She smiled, and it trembled at the corners. "Will you marry me?"

His heart stopped.

All of the blood rushed back to his head, roaring in his ears. He looked around, testing reality. Rhys was feet away, rooted in shock.

"Alec." The sound of his name brought his head back around. She was grinning at him now, eyes alight with laughter, and with love. "Will you marry me?"

He fell to his knees in front of her, taking her hand and pressing it against his chest. "Are you serious?" he asked, still not sure his heart was actually beating yet. "Max... I mean. This is hardly, you know," he gestured helplessly with his free hand. "You."

"I know." She kissed his cheek. "But it could be both of us. If you ever answer me."

A small, warm body cannoned into his side, wriggling under his arm. "Is it time, Mom?"

Max nodded. "You can show him," she said. Noah held out his hand, a silver circle held proudly in the precise centre of his small palm.

"This is for you," he declared, then amended, "if you want it."

Alec picked it up, examined it closely. It was a broad-banded ring. The outside was smooth, shining silver. The inside was carefully incised with a single, flowing barcode. Max's and Alec's joined. He'd never seen anything so beautiful.

Until he looked up and saw her watching him, eagerness and anxiety warring in her eyes. He shook his head ruefully. Her face fell. "Yes," he said, snapping his hand shut around the ring. He couldn't have prevented the smile spreading across his face if he'd tried. He leaned forward, cupping her face between his open hand and the fist holding the ring. His ring. His lips found hers, and the roaring in his ears returned.

It took him almost a minute to realise the noise was the crowd.

He folded her into his arms, cuddling Noah into the circle as well.

It was... perfect.

---

Johan took a deep breath and looked down at Joshua, so many different things going through his mind he couldn't name them all. His friend was laid out on the gurney, as comfortable as Johan could make him in the cold room. The facility was silent around them, the only light in the building shining brightly above them. It was making Joshua squint, and the cold had him hunkered under the light blanket.

"Joshua."

The dog-man turned calm eyes on him. "Johan."

"Are you absolutely sure? There's no going back here." Johan closed his eyes, pressed the heels of his hands over them. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to do this.

"Am sure, Johan." A huge hand came from under the blanket and patted his leg in reassurance before retreating into the warmth beneath the cloth.

"Josh..." Johan shook his head. "Think about it. This was terribly painful for the others. And they were a lot more human than you. I don't..." His voice cracked. "I don't know if I can even guarantee you'll survive."

Joshua's grip was not at all tentative this time. "I am sure. This is the right thing." His eyes burned into Johan's.

Johan's mouth firmed, and he deliberately turned on each of the monitors in order before picking up the syringe. He took a deep breath, injected the contents into the IV. He leaned over, placing one hand on the other man's massive shoulder, and spoke directly into his ear. He put all the resolve he'd ever felt into his words.

"Joshua," he said, "I won't leave you."

Joshua smiled up at him, eyelids already sagging closed. "I know," he said, and was asleep.

---

Rhys was starting to think the smile on Alec's face was a permanent fixture. It made him happy to see it, and it was irritating as hell. Rhys sighed, made his way to Alec's side.

"Congratulations," he said softly, interrupting Alec's watching the dancers. Alec turned to him and hugged him.

"Thanks." His eyes were a little glassy from too much scotch, but he was still sober.

"You deserve it," Rhys told him sincerely.

Alec ducked his head, a little embarrassed. "We all do," he said.

Rhys looked around. "Can we talk a minute?"

"Sure." Alec led him to the comms room, where the soundproofing provided a level of privacy.

"Dalton's been reading up on what we got off of the harddrives at the Red's compound where we picked up Zane," Rhys said. "Not enough to recreate the process. Looks like it wasn't where they worked at all. We're going to need to hunt them down."

Alec nodded slowly. "Is it so bad, being human?" he asked a little forlornly.

"No." Rhys winced. "And yes. But it isn't about me." He bit his lip. "Dalton thinks, maybe.. if we put them back, the others will be ok again."

"Others." Alec sighed, recalling the three transgenics whose minds hadn't been able to handle the strain of the procedure, possibly because of the trauma. Also, possibly because of the extent of the rewrite. "Does he really think there is any hope for them?"

Rhys' lips twisted. "Not really. But any chance is better than none, you know? Plus, there is still me. And the other successful changes. And Zane. Zane wasn't even willing. They deserve a chance to get back to what they were."

Alec nodded slowly. For the first time in hours, the smile was gone from his face. Rhys missed it already. "That sounds right."

"Sounds that way to me too." Rhys took a deep breath, braced himself. "Which is why I'm going to be going looking for them."

Alec stared at him blankly. "What?"

"I'm going to be looking for them." Rhys said. "When we get a lead, I'll head out to check it out." Max swirled past, dancing energetically. Alec's eyes followed her hungrily, the smile returning as if by magic. Rhys dragged his gaze from her with an effort. "And I think it makes sense if I'm out of town a bit anyway."

Alec arched a brow, still watching Max. "I think you worry too much."

"Maybe. But ... I need balance, Alec. I'm never going to find it like this." It came out more like a plea than he'd intended. He strove to return to normalcy. "And it's pretty much what I was doing before anyway."

Max raced up, grabbing the beer from Alec's hand and taking a long drink. "What are you two being so serious about?" She asked on a laugh. Zane's wave from his seat near the door drew her attention before they could think up a good answer. He pointed down at Noah's dark head cuddled against his leg, then made the sign for 'sleeping' and 'leave'. Max raised a hand in acknowledgement and turned back to them. Her cheeks glowed with exertion. "Zane says it's time for him and Noah to go." She caught Rhys' eyes with a grin. "I'm heading back to the apartment too."

"I'll go with you," Alec caught her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. She blushed. Rhys fought the urge to turn away, grinned at Alec.

"I'm going to hang here a while longer," he said, and let them go.

---

The room was dark, except for the light trickling through the opening to the living room. They'd placed the lights on a dimmer so they could monitor Zane's progress and still make it dark enough for Rhys to sleep on the couch.

Rhys sat in the straight-backed chair. It was uncomfortable. It seemed ever since the procedure had wiped out his feline portion of DNA he just didn't have the same ability to... sprawl as before.

It was terribly unfair.

He sighed heavily, wriggled into a position that was marginally less irritating, and tilted his head back against the backrest. He closed his eyes.

"Haven't we been here before?" Zane's deep voice made him jump.

"Not here, no." Rhys smiled crookedly but didn't open his eyes. "But definitely in the same kinda vicinity."

"Here to tell me how wonderful being human is?"

"No. Fuck, no." Rhys laughed at the absurdity of the idea. "Being human's been quite a bitch for me."

Zane raised his eyebrows curiously. "Sounds like a story there."

Rhys described the events of his lapses of control, starting with kissing Max and ending with Zane witnessing him killing Johanssen. Zane was left staring at him, jaw agape. "And that's how Johanssen ended up dead."

"Damn." Zane was impressed. "Jesus, Rhys. All that? You need a keeper, man!"

Rhys barked a dark laugh. "I couldn't agree more. But the usual suspects aren't really an option anymore, are they?" He gestured to the living room 'window', where Alec had just whirled Max into a close embrace. Alec's head bent over hers in a deep, meaningful kiss.

Zane sighed. His blankets rustled as he shifted onto his back. He glanced through the window at Alec and Max, still locked together. They looked as though they could be a while. "They look good together, don't they?"

"They always have." Rhys eyes were slitted, watching Zane closely. "What are you going to do now?"

Zane shrugged easily. Rhys noted that the wound in his chest pulled, bursting a stitch. Zane never noticed. "Not sure. Whatever I do, I need to be back in Seattle pretty frequently."

Rhys lifted an eyebrow, grabbed a gauze pad from the table and passed it to Zane without comment. Zane looked down and hissed in exasperation, pressing the pad against the wound to staunch the small trickle of blood.

"Damned thing keeps doing that," he growled, then came back to topic. "For Noah. I can't see Max leaving here again, with everything..." he looked away, studied the play of light and dark on the wall. "And I need to keep up with Dalton's work on putting me back." His mouth set stubbornly. "It's important that I get back."

Rhys rubbed his chin slowly. "I finished the first round assays on you."

Zane's attention snapped to him. Rhys could feel the weight of those whiskey-dark eyes, intent in Zane's suddenly taut face. "What have you got for me?"

Rhys scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Well, you're definitely human, I'm sad to say. Physiologically, you're in great shape, except for the implant. Very little change there. The implant will keep you amped up, so you won't notice a change in speed or strength. Psychologically, you're unaffected, except..." He laughed ruefully. "Except the right frontal lobe, where your inhibition centre was re-written."

Zane looked alarmed. "What will that mean?"

"Well. In your case? You were almost exclusively feline to start with. Likely explains your loner tendencies and your fundamentally uncooperative nature." Rhys grinned at him. "You're going to be more cautious now. Less likely to go for it, whatever 'it' is. And you're going to be more afraid. More emotional." He sighed, smile fading. "It's going to be an adjustment, but it will be somewhat offset by the implant again."

"Yeah, that little beauty's turning out to be a real treasure, isn't it?"

Rhys winced at the bitterness in Zane's voice. His own was dark when he replied. "It has its upsides."

Zane looked away from the bleakness in Rhys' eyes, obscurely ashamed. "Yeah," he admitted slowly.

"That one year only lease is a bit of a bitch though." Rhys grinned suddenly.

Zane gave a startled laugh. "You do cut to the chase these days, don't you?"

"Nothing new there. But it leads me back to where we started. What are you going to do now?" His eyes drifted to Max wrapped securely in Alec's arms. Zane followed his gaze.

"I think Max and Alec are going to need some time alone together." He swallowed hard. "For Noah to get used to having him around all the time."

"To form a family." Rhys said bluntly.

Zane's mouth compressed. "Yes."

"Sounds to me like you need a hobby." Rhys wriggled again in his chair, cursing his now all-too-human physiology. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes.

Zane blinked at the mild suggestion, glanced around the room. "Think this place is going to feel crowded, once Max and Noah actually move in?"

"Nah," Rhys stretched out his legs. "This place is bigger than it looks. There's always been room for more."

"Might need to add a room or something."

"Well, I'll have to fix the wall..." Rhys considered a moment. "But this is my place, man. That's not going to change, even if I leave for a while. Same goes for you, once you're settled in. We share, we leave, we come back, but this is home."

"Not worried you'll come back and find it taken?"

Rhys smiled. "No."

"Huh." Zane snuggled deeper into the covers. He frowned. "I don't think I've ever had any place like that." He grinned wryly. "Except 'where Noah is'."

"Then you're expanding your horizons." Rhys scratched behind his ear. "We'll work something out. Can't actually have you sleeping in my bed forever. People would talk." He flashed a brilliant grin. "And much as I like you, I just don't think of you that way." Zane gave a startled blurt of laughter.

"You really do need a keeper."

"Yeah? Well, you need a hobby."

They stared at each other in a moment of perfect, crystalline understanding. Zane looked down with a wry smile, then lifted his eyes to Rhys' unwavering gaze and held out his fist, back up. Rhys tapped it with his own without hesitation.

"Deal?"

"Deal."

End

---

A/N: This one, more than any other thing (fanfiction or original), has been both a struggle and a revelation. I've never had characters grow throughout a story like these ones have, and it is painful to leave them.

There as always needs to be thanks assigned here. It is difficult in this case because this took place over two years, and the people involved have changed a great deal in that time.

1. To hobgoblin : the stalwart of this story. Cheerleader, idea vetter, pre-reader, and listener extraordinaire. I really believe without goblie I would not have been able to regain my enthusiasm for this story and it would not have been completed.

2. Maia : incredibly patient, always insightful, Maia remains a critical part of my writing process. While I would have written it anyway, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as good.

3. Northernlady : NL's thoughtful discussions with me on the nature of my characters and their relationships was absolutely invaluable in fleshing out who and what these people were. Those conversations, while rare, were precious.

4. izabelevans : It was iza's review, back in 2004(!) that mentioned 529's claustrophobia. I'd forgotten about it completely. From that one line in her review came the scene in the tunnel and the very first look inside Rhys' head. Everything he is now is due to iza and to that review. Although she hasn't been around much the last six months, she had a profound effect on this story.

5. Shaedowcat : In a review back in 2004, Shaedowcat pointed out that I was missing a digit in Rhys' barcode. This didn't impact the plotline, but it did impact me, because it made me believe that there were readers out there who cared enough to read THAT carefully.

6. Era : who doesn't really read DA anymore (not even me!) but who I borrowed Andrews (and indirectly Johan) from. They both come from him, and I appreciate very much that he has never minded my use of them.

There have been many others, of course, who have been fabulously supportive throughout the entire experience. Special thanks go to: Amelia, Faithrss, Lynn, minnie, lusmeitli, Roonblah, BHG, Dani, Lotamoxie, Ellie, and all the others who posted reviews both at NWP and at ffnet. Thank you all, more than I can say.

And thank goodness, it's done.