Doppelganger

Chapter 6

Alec watched as Max tried to get the kid to open up to her, but with every question Max asked, Quip retreated further into herself, giving monosyllable answers for complex questions like "Where have you been living?" and "Has anyone noticed your barcode?" He knew Max was on a guilt-trip right now, he could see it in the lines on her face, but pumping the kid for information about just how much her life had sucked since Manticore wasn't going to make Max or the kid feel better.

When the kid...Quip's head started to droop toward the pillow, Alec tossed a smirk at Max. "Hey, how about you continue the inquisition tomorrow? She'll probably be more up to it when she's had a few hours sleep."

"What time is it?"

"I dunno." Alec glanced at the clock on the wall. "Four in the morning."

"Oh." Max blinked and pulled her shoulders back, half-embarrassed. "I didn't know..."

"Yeah, must be nice to be infused with shark DNA, but some of us have to sleep," he said, nodding toward his exhausted not-a-clone. Quip sat up straight when they looked at her, but her eyelids were closing even as she struggled to keep them open. Alec rolled his eyes at her. Stubborn.

"I'll ask Logan if he can get her an appointment with his doctor tomorrow, so he can check her out and stitch her up," Max said as she slid out of the chair she had been sitting in. "I can take her by in the morning. You and O.C. can cover me at work." She held her hand out to the girl. "You ready to go, kiddo?"

"Whoa, where's she going?" Alec asked, standing up. He flicked his eyes from Max to the kid. "And she doesn't need a doctor."

Max turned toward him, one hand on her hip. "Yes, she does. And you didn't think she was going to stay here, did you?"

"Well, yeah, sorta," Alec said. He glanced at the kid and noticed how she had sunk into the couch, pulling the pillow over her like a shield. Only her wide green-gold eyes peeked over the top of the pillow, and they stared at Max with apprehension. Maybe Max with her ten year head start had forgotten what it was like to be right out of Manticore and away from the doctors' scalpels, but this kid hadn't. "What're you going to do, stick her on the back of your bike and let her freeze all the way back to your place?"

"No," Max retorted, "I'll use one of your jackets."

Women. They always thought they could walk off with your clothes. "I don't think you should be driving off with her on a bike when she's got a bullet hole in her."

"I thought you said she didn't need a doctor." Max crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly, as if she didn't think he could up with a comeback for that.

Alec rubbed his hand across his face and frowned at Max. She was always so damn difficult; was that some kind of side effect from living on the outside too long? "Look, I'm just saying that she probably doesn't want to go to a doctor. I mean, I couldn't imagine why not with all her happy, fun-times memories about them and everything."

"I know, I know," Max said, "But she's still hurt-"

"And she'll heal," Alec replied, "It's what we're built to do. And it's not going to kill her."

"What, you're an X8 expert now?" Max asked, cocking her head to the side and glaring at him. It seemed like Alec could never do anything right when it came to Max.

"No, but I've seen more bullet wounds in transgenics than you have," Alec retorted.

"I'll be fine," Quip put in, her voice soft and tired but insistent. She raised her head from the pillow and looked up at the two older transgenics. "Can I go now?"