The Truth Hurts by iluvaqt
Disclaimer: All rights to the series Dark Angel and its characters belong to their respective creators Cameron/Elgee, 20th Century FOX and Virtual Season 3. No money is made from this fiction and it is intended for entertainment only.
Summary: Post Series & VS3 "Brothers In Arms"
Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)
iluvaqt's Note: An old bunny, dusted off, elaborated on and polished for the Raising Hell Archive, Valentine's Day Challenge. This is something VietAngel as been waiting on me for – oh, for about – a year, perhaps longer. I hope it was worth the wait. I kept my promise. Even if I did leave Asha/Alec in a black hole for unholy amount of time.

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Not a normal day...

Asha closed her eyes, avoiding the horror before her. Never in her worst nightmares had she dreamt this could happen to her. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the truth. Working with the S1W in San Francisco, with Mike, she had gotten into a few sticky jams that sent her pulse racing and her sweat function into overdrive, but a sea of angry, shouting, blurred people never once featured in her imagination.

So many colors. So many faces. It was like a watercolor gone wrong. This was unlike any sunrise greeting she'd ever imagined and certainly so far from how she'd imagined her day to begin, she was beyond tears. The yelling blended into one dull drone in her ears. There was the sound of someone shouting at her, she couldn’t understand what he was saying above the rush of blood to her head. She still couldn’t quite believe they were all real. It didn’t matter how many times she had seen them. It seemed like a science fiction story to weird to be believable, where the mutants overtook the humans. There were more animal-like transgenics prowling Terminal City than there were human-appearing transgenics. Not that she was a mutant-phobic. She had a soft spot for Joshua, with his gentle nature and childlike innocence. There was nothing innocent or adoring about the mob before her now. Struggling to swallow, she could feel the blood in her veins throbbing under her skin. Turning her head, she tried to plead for understanding from the savage reptilian transgenic to her left.

He looked down at her, a low growl emitting from deep in his throat. His lips were barely open, but the rank smell of too much alcohol and cigars swamped her senses.

"You’re nothing more than a nosy, piss-weak Ordinary. We’ll show them why they have reason to fear us. And they’ll pay in kind for killing ours." He brought his face so close to hers that their noses were a hairs-breadth away. He whispered to her, their eyes, brown to sea blue, never breaking contact. "After all, if you hadn't been so keen on sticking your nose were it don't belong, they never would have known our weakest entry point."

Why did it take those exact words for her body to react to just how bad the situation was? Her entire body quivered in shock. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest and tears sprung to her eyes.

"No," she begged. "Please…No…" Of all the times to have a memory lapse. Damn it! She couldn’t remember his name.

"Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, Mole," a very pale transgenic with a patch over one eye approached the lizard man and spoke hesitantly.

Mole turned to him with a scowl. "Why? You gonna run to Max and rat on me? Do it. We’ll make her weak, sniveling friend next." Straightening to his full height, he looked down at Asha with a satisfied smirk. Lifting his shotgun, he cocked it and then rested it on his shoulder. Eyeing the crowd, he gestured at Asha. "Fair's fair. A life for a life…"

The roar of the mob was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

In the Mess Hall

Alec was playing cards alone, when Joshua burst through the double doors. It had been three days since he'd gone out to see Asha. Their last meeting had been bittersweet. He knew every time he snuck out of Terminal City, he was risking not only his own life but hers and all of his friends. The stakes were too high. He had to make a decision soon. Leave or stay. Neither left a nice taste in his mouth. Looked like today wasn't going to make this week any easier. Throwing down the cards in his hand, Alec stood up and met his friend halfway. He read Joshua the second he entered the room and knew immediately that something was seriously wrong.

"Relax, tell me what’s going on," Alec said calmly.

Joshua shook his head and tried to speak. "She…Mole, he’s… Asha…"

Hearing Mole and Asha’s name in the same sentence, Alec’s face darkened. "Let’s go."

A couple of weeks ago their friendship had taken a different turn. Every chance he got to sneak out of Terminal City, he went to see her. And every time Father Destry sent the Soup Kitchen around for the National Guard, Asha came along.

Since the day Max had assumed leadership, there seemed to be a growing unrest amongst some of the transgenics. Some thought she was too fond of the Ordinaries. Others thought she wasn’t fit to command because of her track record when the going got tough. Some of the male transgenics liked to challenge her just because she was female. Usually he didn’t care who was fighting who or the politics going around. He’d mind his own business and kept an eye on Gem and Joshua.

OC and Sketchy had left weeks ago, thankfully. It took a load off his mind knowing he did have to watch out for them from both sides. Neither the outsiders nor the transgenics took kindly to the pair. Both considered them to be threats. Sketchy was a fumbling idiot who caused more trouble than anything else, yet Alec felt for the guy. He kinda got dragged headlong into the situation and had to deal because of his loyalty to Max and himself. As for Original Cindy, she was the kind of woman that could handle herself in any situation, but he felt a whole lot better knowing she was out of Terminal City and hiding out with the S1W than right in the firing line.

Taking the corner and making their way to the abandoned rail yard, Alec heard the commotion before he saw what was going on.

Between the buildings he could see where a large group of transgenics had gathered. Gem was trying to push through, but it was no use. It seemed like they were keeping her out. As he got closer, he could see why.

"Asha," he yelled.

His heart leaped into his throat and all of a sudden his mouth felt dry. His stomach churned over and he felt like he was going to be sick. Forcing the back the bile in his throat, he turned to Joshua.

"Get Max," he growled with simmering rage.

Without waiting to see if Joshua heeded his order, Alec ran towards the crowd and pushed through. He didn’t ask or try to squeeze between them - he shoved them out of the way. He didn’t hold back either. Transgenics were tossed left and right and he could hear their disgruntled protests in his wake. He didn’t care. If they knew what was good for them, they’d shut up, because when he was through with Mole, he was going after every one of them involved.

Mole saw Alec coming and broke into a wide grin. "We weren’t going to start without …"

He was cut short when Alec closed a hand around his throat, effectively shutting off his source of oxygen. The second Mole knew his friend was out for blood, Mole reacted in kind, gabbing Alec by the neck.

Mole glared at Alec. They both knew this attempt at torture could last awhile with both of them suffering more than a few bruises in the process. Alec grunted and shoved Mole back, releasing him. Grabbing the knife from Mole’s belt, Alec hacked the rope above Asha’s feet and caught her in one fluid motion.

Alec shot daggers at Mole, his eyes racking over the transhuman with a mixture of disgust and fury. "We’re not done yet," Alec ground out.

Jutting his chin, Mole glared back at him, as though daring him for a rematch.

Feeling the sudden weightlessness, followed by sharp jot, Asha came around groggily. A familiar scent washed over her and she immediately sagged against him and sobbed in relief. For all her attempted heroics, nothing would stop the tide of emotion as she clung to him. Never in her life had she been more afraid. Her heart still pounded painfully in her chest. She felt light-headed and her wrists and ankles stung. The skin was split and bleeding from being bound too tight.

Not wanting to risk Asha amongst the crowd any longer, Alec turned on his heel and jumped off the platform. He pushed through them, holding Asha tightly to his chest. He pursed his lips and glared at every face watching him. They were nothing short of animals. All of them. The only thing keeping him from lashing out was the woman in his arms. He wanted to get her away from there. He wanted to take her as far away as possible. Tears burned in his eyes as he saw her wounds. Someone had to pay for this. Mole was going to wish he’d never set foot in Seattle.

A figure ran toward him, and through the watery haze, he recognized who it was. It was the last person he wanted to see. If it weren’t for her, he never would have ended up here. If it hadn't been for her and her guilt treatment - help others and responsibility - blah blah, woof woof, - he would have been long gone by now. But if it weren’t for her, he never would have met Asha.

That thought chilled him and he stopped walking. Max rushed to him, and her face paled as she looked at Asha.

"What happened?" Max asked with concern.

Alec scowled. "They happened, that’s what. Those freaks…" he bit his tongue. It’s just what the Ordinaries called him. But he hadn’t done this to them, he argued. But you have, his conscious argued. You’ve murdered, you’ve tortured… Because I had to, he argued back. Alec shook his head angrily and stared at Max, eyes blazing. "Stay here if you want. Fight for them, if you think it’s worth it."

Without another word, he walked away from her. Max stood watching him. She turned to look at the crowd still gathered in the rail yard. Maybe he was right. Why was she here? "Because this is my home too," she reasoned. You’re not going to let them drive you out of the only place you’ve ever called home. Whether it’s the transgenics or the people on the outside, it didn’t matter. Nobody was going to force her into giving up anything.

With a determined stride, she walked toward the group. It looked like it was time to establish ground rules again.

Alec’s Quarters

He couldn’t really call it his home, it was a shared room. What was once an office space, they had converted into three- person housing. He used to share it with Biggs. Now he only shared it with Roman. The guy was a true Manticore soldier. He took it upon himself to do the rooftop, night watch. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was on the outside doing recon. Living dangerously, as Max so aptly put. But weren’t they all? Roman lived and breathed espionage and tactics. Every minute was spent ensuring his unit's safety. So even though the place wasn’t solely his, Alec could count on it being that way for at least the next few hours.

Asha was still crying, and Alec didn’t have the heart to let go. So he sat down on his foldout, still holding her. For a moment they just sat there in silence. Tears streamed down Asha’s cheeks. Her face was buried in his chest and he could feel the moisture against his skin. Her tears had seeped through his shirt. Lifting his hand, he brushed her hair from her face and turned her chin so he could see her eyes.

"Why did you come here?" he asked huskily. Her face was still splotchy. Not just from crying but from all the blood that had pooled in her head. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Asha didn’t answer. She opened her mouth to speak but her throat closed up. It felt so tight and raw. As if reading her pain, Alec reached over and picked up his canteen. Opening the cap, he tilted it to her lips.

"Drink this. Slowly."

She did as she was told and when he took it away, she tried her voice again. "I didn’t think… I wouldn’t have, if I knew it wasn’t safe." A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye again. She looked away. Not able to stand his probing gaze any longer.

"I have to clean those for you," Alec whispered, gingerly lifting her wrists to inspect her wounds. "Wait here, I promise I’ll be back before you know it."

He smiled at her, and she couldn’t resist a small smile in return. In his case, she knew his words were probably true. Superhuman speed’n all.

"Maybe I’ll raid the kitchen on the way back. Ginger’ll understand."

All the while, Alec was gone, Asha had time to mull over just what had brought her to Terminal City. Everyone had told her to stay away. Max, Logan, Father Destry. Father Destry had commended her efforts and even assisted some of the transgenics himself, but he’d cautioned her more than once about getting too involved.

"There is a war, Asha, and we offer aid to everyone. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful. Some label us as traitors already. In truth, there are those from both sides who would be more than happy to be rid of us."

Even though Alec had never told her not to visit. He never invited her either. If she hadn’t made the first move, maybe he never would have looked her way. He had once. Whether out of sympathy or maybe on the rebound, she’d never know. She wasn’t the type to dredge up the past, and he sure wasn’t the type to share. So what had happened would stay in the past.

The more she mulled over their lives, the bleaker their future seemed. Even if he did care about her, where would they go? According to the S1W sources, this wasn’t an isolated incident. In Chicago, and in Vancouver there were riots. People were afraid. They were afraid of what they’d seen on television, afraid of rumors that had spread about deadly transgenics. Some carrying fatal viruses, others that looked like monsters, and others that looked like everyone else and could blend in, a silent threat. People were in an uproar. Police couldn’t handle it. Nation Guard were out in force. History had seen it all before. Miscommunication, misguided fear, and many died needlessly. Is that what it was going to come to? Maybe she should have stayed out of it. Why was she even here? They wanted to kill her. Outside they thought of her as a traitor. The police wanted her because of San Francisco and Eyes Only. The people wanted her because she was a transgenic lover. And now the transgenics were out for blood because she was human and because of one terrible mistake she'd made. Talk about an impossible situation. It was one of those times she wanted a hole to open up under her and swallow her whole. Just so she could disappear. Then just maybe all her problems would too.

Alec kicked open the door with his foot, and she jumped up with a start. He was bearing a tray, and had a few bandages stuffed under his arm. Setting the tray and bandages on a table nearby, he turned and faced her.

Giving her a once over, he gave her a mock frown. "Those won’t do," he said with authority. Going to a box on the floor, he pulled off the lid and inspected its contents. He pulled out a navy hooded sweater and a pair of black track pants. "There probably a bit big, but their clean." He tossed them onto the mattress, and without another word, he turned his back and waited for her to change.

Asha took off her jeans, wincing as the stiff material brushed against her open sores. She bit her lip to keep from crying, and blinked back tears as she forced her arms to work at pulling her top over her head. The soft fealty material inside the clothes Alec offered was soothing to her frayed nerves.

Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Alec took one of Asha's wrists and pushed the sleeve up her arm. He dabbed the cuts with iodine and then wrapped a clean bandage over it. He repeated his ministrations on her other wrist and then her ankles. He didn't say a word till he was done. "They're raw but shallow. It'll take a couple days but they'll scab over and with some aloe, they won't scar."

He crawled over the fold out and rested against the sofa back, offering her a cup of hot chocolate. "Ginger only had a couple muffins. She didn't have anything else left from breakfast."

Asha shook her head as he offered her a muffin. Her throat was too dry to think about food.

Leaning against the sofa back, Alec took a bite of one of the muffins and lifted his arm for Asha to curled against him. She took slow sips of the drink till she fell into an exhausted sleep. He took the half empty cup from her fingers and hugged her gently. She shivered in her unconsciousness and each trembling breath shot his nerves to shreds and brought his anger that much closer to boiling point. Her suppressed emotions were openly revealed in her slumber and it ate at him that even in his arms, she still felt threatened. The moment her breathing evened out, he gently moved her to the pillows and pulled a blanket over her.

It didn't take him to find the object of his aggression.

Atrium to HQ

Mole saw Alec coming and noted the taught line of his jaw and the fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. He straightened from leaning against the railing and lifted his shotgun with one hand.

Alec blurred and twisted the weapon from Mole's grasp. Barely keeping his fury in check, he emptied the chamber and tossed the shotgun out of reach. "Face it like a soldier, you piece of scum." His fingers had itched to snap the shotgun in two but they needed the firepower. They had limited resources and he was more controlled than to let a little testosterone over rule his survival instincts.

Mole butted his cigar on his palm and put it in his breast pocket. "Bring it pretty boy, I've been waiting to throw down with you," he answered, a cruel smirk gracing his lips.

Joshua shifted nervously at the bottom of the steps. He'd seen Alec before anyone else had and sent him a pleading look. Everyone was on edge at the moment. After Max's speech about unity and laying off stirring up trouble among the ranks or giving the ordinaries a reason to blast them off the face of the Earth, there were more than a handful of bruised egos and bitter vendettas. It would be better to allow a bit of cool off time. Not time to go on the warpath. But his look had gone unheeded. The best he could hope for now was Alec coming off the better party. He'd seen glimpses of both men in action and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Alec had the upper hand at first. He was fast and he used his smaller size and agility to attack points the bigger man left open. But Mole had a heavy hit, and with his weight and greater strength, each hit that did connect slowed Alec considerably.

Mole laughed when his fist connected with Alec's face. Alec dodged but not fast enough and it split his eyebrow sending a stream of blood over his eye, blurring his vision.

It seemed that Mole healed faster than the X5 too. The cuts sealed themselves and stopped bleeding, almost as fast as Alec made them. Where as his still bled freely.

Joshua was about to step in when he noticed Alec sway on his feet.

Mole smiled and went in for a sweeping blow to Alec's temple. It would have been a killing move for an ordinary and a serious injury for a transgenic.

Alec ducked in a blur, using a burst of speed spurred by righteous anger and toppled the large transhuman off his feet.

Mole was more than a little disgruntled and tried to get up from his undignified position. Alec was faster. Catching him in a chokehold.

Alec stood above Mole. Upon closer inspection, the cuts may have closed but purple and blue bruises were surfacing every where and the lizard man looked like a messy inkblot. Mole wheezed and clawed at the arm encompassing his throat. Alec tightened his hold, he could feel the bones in Mole's neck pressed up against his skin and he could almost count the vertebrae. The transhuman coughed out blood and tried to stand, to shake Alec off.

Alec punched him in the side of the head and tightened his arm till he noted a bluish tinge to Mole's lips. The transhuman slumped a little and sat back on his feet.

"You listen up, I'm only going to say this once," Alec said with a growl in Mole's ear. "If I ever hear you’ve threaten or beat a woman, or a kid for that matter, I mess you up so bad you won't touch anything again. It'll make it real heard to enjoy those Stogies you like so much," he added with a sneer. "Are we clear?"

Mole nodded. Alec kneed him in the kidney and twisted around to look him in the eye, still keeping a hand firmly around his throat. Alec narrowed his eyes and spoke again, "I want words. Do you understand me?" he hissed. He glared unflinchingly into the transhuman's face.

As Mole signaled that he wanted to answer, Alec thrust him away. Mole landed on his butt and sucked in a deep breath before answering. He spluttered and tilted his head side to side in an attempt to ease the constricted muscles. He resisted the urge to massage out the imprint of fingers on his scales. He didn’t want to display any more weakness than he already had in front of his peers. His shoulders hunched in defeat, and he shook his head wirily. "I’m sorry, k...Alec. It’ll never happen again." Kid had been on the tip of his tongue and he'd caught the name before it rolled off his lips. He'd given all he had in during fight and the younger man had still bested him. He wouldn't be calling Alec, kid or pretty boy again - at least not within earshot. Losing wasn't something that happened a lot, but he knew when to admit defeat. The others might think him a brute and callus but he wasn't about killing his own kind. Alec had won the fight, and he'd set his terms. He could live with the hands off rule, but any bitch or brat that came his way packing, would have to be an exception. No transgenic in their right mind was going to take it lying down. Alec would just have to find him for a smack down after the victory dance.

Alec acknowledged him with a nod and turned to leave. He picked up his jacket and Mole’s from where they'd shed them during the scuffle. Tossing it to the transhuman, he eyed every transgenic that stood around watching them. They parted to let him through. Not one word was said. Alec left Atrium, feeling no better about things, then when he had arrived.

His round with Mole hadn’t really fixed anything. Okay, so it ensured that the lizard transhuman learned his lesson, for the time being, but it wasn’t going to heal Asha’s wounds. Nor was it going to change her mind about them. If anything, it just reinforced how dangerous he was to her. Not because he didn’t care, or that he’d ever hurt her intentionally, but just by being who he was. He was a transgenic, she was human, and that would always be between them. And not because they wanted it to be that way, just because that’s the way the world saw them. They weren’t supposed to be together. He should have learnt that already. Look what happened with Rachel.

As he walked back to the main building, he shook his head sadly. It was time to let go. She knew it, and so did he. It was great while it lasted. But if they tried to hang on any longer, someone was going to get hurt. Who was he kidding? They were already there.

Up two flights of stairs and down a maze of corridors, he found the door he was looking for. He knocked twice. At first there was no answer. He was about to turn around and walk away, when there was a noise, a curse and then hurried footsteps.

Max threw open the door. Her hair was in disarray and her top was a bunched a little too high on her torso.

"If I'm interrupting..." Alec stared with an assessing look.

Max blushed and squeezed out the door, pulling it closed behind her. It didn't click, and creaked back open when she let the handle go. "What did you want?" she asked slightly breathy.

Alec raised an eyebrow. Transgenics didn't get winded easily. Either she was doing major furniture rearranging, or she had company that she didn't want him to know about. He didn't have to ask.

"Max?" a masculine voice called from within.

If it was possible Alec's eyebrow shot further into his hairline. Was that...Roman? He couldn't hold back the smile. Max had drop kicked him faster than you could bat an eyelid because he was the epitome of a Manticore soldier back in the day, and she'd even looked at him with scorn because of it and now she was with their number one guy? Hah, that's irony for ya. And he was going to enjoy rubbing it in her face.

"So you manage to lure him away from his latest mission?" he asked with a wink.

Max blushed and jabbed him with a quick hook to the stomach. She opened her mouth but Alec clamped a hand over it.

"And don't even say, we're not like that," he chuckled. He made a display of taking a deep sniff of air. "He's all over you."

At her open mouthed expression, Alec smirked. He turned away and started back down the corridor. Stopping a short distance away he said over his shoulder, "I just came by to say that I need a favor. Run interference for me. You know what I mean."

He didn't wait to see her look or what she'd say. He didn't want her to throw his words back in his face. He knew that it wasn't a secret that he and Asha were sort of together, but he hadn't exactly made it public knowledge either.

Max bit her lip and hung her head. She'd asked the same from him. As much as she'd wanted it, things between Logan and her hadn't improved, and with the growing unrest toward transgenics they'd both agreed that letting go was the best thing to do. He'd slow her down or get her killed and she proved the same danger to him. She didn't think that she'd love anyone else that way, or that she even had the time, but love had a funny way of finding you even when you weren't looking.

She knew well enough that, 'I told you so's, or didn't you say that once,' wasn't what he needed right now. He'd been there when she needed him, and now it was her turn. Backing through the door, she turned to face an embarrassed looking Roman.

"He knows?" He knew because he'd heard Alec say his name, but he wanted to see what Max thought about it.

Max gave him a veiled look. "Yeah, he does." Then pretended to be concerned and chewed her bottom lip for a second, avoiding his stare. Then looked at him through her lashes, before she tilted her head slightly and gave him a sexy smile, advancing on him with the slow, measured steps of a jungle cat. "So where's this surprise you promised me?"

Alec's Quarters

Alec opened the door and kicked it shut behind him. He'd come by earlier but she'd been asleep. She'd look so fragile and worn that he hadn't the heart to wake her. He'd drifted around Terminal City, checking on his old unit mates and new friends. And even sat with Joshua for awhile after dinner, to get the low down on Max and Roman. He figured if it hadn't blipped on his radar, very few would have noticed, but Josh wouldn't have been one of them. Nothing about his friend's went unnoticed by the lovable transhuman. Hours had gone by and he figured she should be awake by now. He took some leftovers from dinner and headed back to his place. It was time to bite the bullet. He started the daunting walk back to his apartment when lightening streaked overhead. Fantastic. Rain. Just as he pulled his hood over his head, thunder boomed and the clouds opened. He barely had the chance to shove his paper bag under his jumper before the rain pelted down.

Soaked to the bone, he peeled off his jumper and tossed it in the corner. It met the floor with a wet slap and he yanked the equally wet t-shirt off, while he went in search of a dry one. He was in the process of threading his arm in and pulling the shirt down, when he drew back the curtain on his bedroom area. His hands stilled their movement, the t-shirt descending no further than his chest while his heart skidded to a halt. There was Asha was curled up on his fold-out, minus his clothes on loan, her hair was brushed out and her face was flush - less tears and grim and she was looking at him with these, 'Come hither eyes'.

Somehow he managed to unfurl his tongue from his throat and stop his eyes on their downward journey from her face to her long, velvety and inviting her legs fringed by black French lace. Break up sex, is like angry sex, right? part of his brain piped up, before he could shut down the blood flooding the area. He closed his eyes briefly and sucked in a silent deep breath. Being the good guy sucked so bad.

"Asha, we need to talk."

It was as those words acted as the proverbial bucket of cold water. Asha shut up shop so fast you could have blinked and swore he'd imagined the whole 'I want you' display. She'd donned his sweat shirt again, pulled the blanket halfway up to her waist and folded her arms over it for good measure. A nun would have managed to look more provocative.

Alec sat on the corner of the mattress and ran his hand through his hair. "We can't do this anymore. You and me," he said gesturing between them. "It can't work out."

Asha rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Don't feed me that Alec. You've said it all before. I'm a big girl, don't you think I deserve to make my own decisions?"

"This isn't what you want, Asha. What do you think we can have?" he asked tiredly. "I'm a freak."

"Not to me," she cried, forgetting her state of semi-undress and crawling over to him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. "You're not a freak, Alec. You're a good person, you care and you're...you're special to me," her throat closed over and she fought back a fresh onslaught of tears. "Call me an idealistic sap but there are so many things I wanted to share with you. Valentine's Day, 4th of July, Christmas..." she whispered wistfully. "Have you ever even seen snow, Alec?"

At the sad look in his eye, Asha bit her tongue. How could she have been so stupid. Her and her stupid mouth. She was always shooting off faster than her brain could think. He'd grown up in Wyoming before the Pulse, hadn't he? Like Max?

When she'd asked him if he'd seen snow, he immediately thought of his mission in Kazakhstan with Biggs. They'd had really good off time on that assignment - women with sinful legs, blue-black hair and heavenly lips.Biggs. His gut twisted painfully at the memory of his friend's horrific end - another causality in their war. The worse thing, it was far from over and there'd be many more casualties. Hopefully, he could ensure there would be one less. "It's not going to work Asha. We were kidding ourselves letting it go on this long. I meant it when I told you to leave me alone. And I promise you, you'll be doing yourself a favor," he finished a laugh.

Asha knew him well enough to read the micro-expressions on his face and his eyes never could completely hide his true feelings. Just like the smile on his lips, contradicted what was in his hazel orbs now.

"Cut the crap, Alec. I know the deal. I just have to be more careful." She kissed his temple. "You can't shut me out. You need me as much as I need you."

"Damn it Asha. I'll get you killed. I couldn't live with myself..." Alec said bitterly. "...not again," he added with a hoarse whisper. He shrugged out of her arms and stood without looking at her. When he heard that she hadn't moved, he sighed inwardly. She was going to fight him all the way. In time it would hurt less. He closed his eyes and balled his fists. "Just go, Asha," he growled.

Asha watched open mouthed, her eyes glistening with tears. There had been only one other time he'd raised his voice at her, and she'd gotten a glimpse of the threatening soldier he'd been designed to be. She'd been intimidated then but the only thing that had been hurt was her pride, now it felt like he'd stabbed her in the heart. She refused to sob in front of him. He wanted her gone. She could do that. But it'd be a long time before her heart stopped beating for him. He'd showed her a passion for living that she'd lost when her brother, Mike, had died, and now it was as though that light had been snuffed out again. Those you love can hurt you the deepest. It was a sentiment that she hadn't believed before now and desperately wished she could disprove. She quietly pulled on the sweat pants and made for the door. Holding the doorknob in her hand, she sent one last heartbreaking look in his direction. He was still turned away from her, his shoulders squared, the strong chords of his neck obvious and the tense stance of his lithe-muscled body betraying his inner torment. Blinking back her tears, she opened the door and left him alone with his thoughts. Some mother disaster of Valentine's Days this had turned out to be.

FIN