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"Just hold on, Maxie. I'm right here. It's going to be okay."
"I know that," Max stuttered out, trying as best she could to convey irritation while shaking uncontrollably. She could tell from Alec's pale face and worried expression that she wasn't doing a bang up job of it. "It's no big deal; it'll be over soon," she assured him.
Alec got up and started banging around the abandoned lab they were hiding in, pushing aside crates and opening cupboard doors. "There might be something here we can use to help …"
"Alec!" Max called.
Alec rushed back to her. "What?"
"Would you just calm down, please? You're not going to find any serotonin pills in this place. No milk either."
They were here on a tip from one of Eyes Only's informers, who was supposed to show up an hour ago with information on a serotonin shipment. He never showed and Max was too sick to drive her motorcycle home. Unfortunately, Alec stayed out of a misguided case of chivalry.
Alec shrugged. "I thought … yeah, you're right. It's stupid. I just want to do something to help."
The shakes rattled down Max's shoulders and arms, jolting her against the wall like a puppet. "Just come and sit down, will you? Wait quietly with me. That is, if you're able."
Alec looked affronted. "I'm not a hyperactive child." He came over and sat down beside her, and began flexing and unflexing his fists.
"You sure about that?" Max asked. Her voice hitched at the end of the question. Damn, why did Alec of all people have to be the one to see her like this?
Alec cast a sidewise glance at her. Max was too preoccupied being miserable to try to decipher what it meant. Then, he reached out and took one of her quaking, cold hands between both of his large, warm hands.
"There," he said, sounding satisfied. "That helps."
And weirdly enough, it really did.