DISCLAIMER: Not mine,
except Christine Foster and her Afterglow affiliates.
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: AJBAC, and the
first episode of season 2
"Rationale"
12:01 am
Christine Foster stared outside the window, into the darkness
of her mind. What she saw was a cold, icy future now that Max was dead. Her
small, soft fingers traced down the windowpane as her blue eyes became glazed
from her mind leaving.
"Chris?" Logan walked in, aided by his cane.
No response. She had been like this for months now. Cold,
silent, but alive. "I'm going to train."
"For what, Chris? Manticore is gone," he replied.
No response again, just movements towards the training room.
She has lost a lot of weight, but gained a little more tone. Since Max left,
she had this determination to go into Manticore and save her. Her long hair was
now above her shoulders, falling still in that soft manner.
Should Logan tell her that Max was all right? That she was
alive? That there was some virus that affected his genetic code and possible
hers? Could he subject Chris to that pain? He felt the chemistry between Max
and Chris and prayed that at least the virus in Max would not affect Chris.
6:45am
She was sound asleep, like a baby. Fragile. Logan sighed. He
had paged Max two hours ago, claiming that it was of utmost importance. It was,
at least on Chris's part. He had to snap her out of this trance.
"What is so damn important that you need me at all hours at
night?" Max smirked as she walked in. She brushed her long, soft hair back, and
looked at him with that "it better be a damn good reason" look.
To avoid getting Logan ill, both kept their distance. He
peeked into Chris's room, and was not surprised to see her gazing out of the
window again, as usual.
"Max…Chris is back."
Max's brown eyes widened at thought of Chris. "Where—"
"In there. She….she's not well…"Logan trailed off, thinking of
his cousin suffering.
"What's wrong? Is she ill again? From working with Afterglow
and straining her body?" Max remembered the last time Chris was ill; she took
care of her.
"Just go see her, Max…"
Max nodded and went into the room. Instead of a headstrong,
powerful individual, Max saw a broken, fragile girl. This broke her heart to
the point where she could not find her own voice. She just stared at this
broken soul.
But Chris's senses were not all gone; she quickly turned around,
sensing someone else in her room. Her icy eyes widened. It couldn't be, no her
mind must be playing tricks again.
Max finally found her voice, and was surprised at how soft it
was. "…Chris…"
At the sound of Max, Chris knew that she was real. Her knees
went weak, and she started to collapse, but Max rushed to her and held her up.
Max's brown eyes looked into Chris's blue eyes, and waited to see if Chris
would react like Logan did.
Nothing. Chris just stood there, being held by Max, and somehow
feeling stronger. Finally realizing that the virus did not affect her, Max
pulled Chris into a warm embrace. Chris was trembling, shivering. And the sound
of soft crying could be heard.
"Shh…see, I'm fine," Max whispered. Even Max surprised
herself; she was not normally this gentle, but always with those she cared
about.
Finally, Chris spoke. "Max…I thought you were dead." She
raised her arm where the bracelet was still intact and shining in the dim light
from the moon.
Max widened her eyes. That was the same bracelet she had since
before the escape. Then, she too held up her hand, opposite of Chris's and
clasped it, lacing their fingers together. "Found you…"
Chris smiled. She had found her friend again, someone who she
sought for years. What she didn't know that she was one of Max's inspirations
for escaping; Max knew that she had someone who was waiting for her.
"Chris. You need to wake up from this dark-thing you're into. I
mean, look at you, girl. You've lost a lot of weight and your eyes are red,"
Max told her.
"But I thought you were—"
"Do I look dead?" Max smiled and hugged her. "Come on, we're
going out, all day and all night. You need to get out."
And then it happened. Christine Foster smiled again. "Alright,
give me a few minutes to shower and dress."
"Take your time, hun. We've got all we need." Max replied,
reassuring her.
Chris nodded and headed toward the shower.
Max turned to Logan, who was still a distance. "She'll be ok.
She's bouncing back."
"Because she has you, Max. You guys need each other," he
responded, almost half-heartedly. Was he jealous? Of what?
"Yea…I guess we do." Max said, trailing off, allowing her mind
to do the same.
~*~*~Max's POV~*~*~
So I finally come back to somewhat of a "home." Chris missed
me that much. I didn't even realize that I had that much influence on her life.
It's not like she lets just anyone in. But then, I'm the same way. Guess that
is how we connect. But it's beyond that. I just need to find the rationale of
it.
~*~*~Chrissy's POV~*~*~
She's back. I still can't believe it. Manticore is gone, but
there is something that is still not right. I don't want Max to leave again.
Dammit, I've let myself become attached again. But somehow, it feels so right.
Like we were meant to find each other back when I was eight years old, and we
found each other again tonight. So…what happens now?
Author's note: No, this
isn't the end. I have a lot more fics of Chrissy and Max on the
way. Let
me know what you think of a possible pairing. Hey, I think it
would work, but that's my bias.
