Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel.
Death is a Dream
Time seemed to slow down.
She was not answering him. "Something's wrong." He could feel it, something had happened to her. He went into the woods to find her and could see her lying on the ground. He ran as fast as possible but it took him so long to get to her. He noticed, horrified, that she had a bullet in her chest. Her blood was soaking through his clothes as he attempted to stop the flow.
He couldn't.
He tried to tell her that her wound was not so bad, but he was trying to convince himself more than her. Tears of desperation and sorrow were forming in his eyes. He could feel her life slipping away. She tried to tell him something as she lay crying, but he refused. He told her that it could wait. She said his name. Her eyes closed and her body went limp. He called out her name, desperate for her to answer him.
He had to take her with him. He struggled to lift her up because his body was shaking so much. Someone was attempting to make him part with her. He couldn't leave her like this. Suddenly, everything went dark.
The last thought in his mind was that his love was dead. His world was at an end.
Logan Cale sat up; his heart was pounding painfully against his chest. He brought his shaking fingers up to his face and touched it warily. He looked at his hands, turning them over as he let out a sigh of relief.
There was no blood on his hands. Just sweat, his sweat.
He ran his fingers through his brown hair and released another shaky sigh. He remembered the day she nearly died so clearly. He remembered the darkness, the panic, the hysteria and the utter hopelessness as he watched her die. It was just as vivid as ever and he sometimes had to remind himself that she didn't die, that she was here with him.
Deciding that he had to see her, he carefully got out of bed and put on his exoskeleton before rushing off to her apartment. He had to make sure that she was alright.
A very annoyed Max Guevera answered the door. She rarely slept, but tonight was the night her body decided that it needed to sleep. Her angry demeanour changed almost instantly when she saw the look on his face. "Logan, what's wrong?" She opened the door and allowed him entry.
The moment he entered the room he flung his arms around her. Realising something was wrong, he backed away from her. "No," he muttered hoarsely.
"You had that dream again, didn't you?" Max questioned, examining his body language. "The one where I almost died?"
He barely registered her questions as he said, "This can't be happening." He was so pale and looked like he was about to pass out.
"Logan?"
He stared at her. "My arms, they went right through you."
Max suddenly had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Logan," she spoke. Tears made their way down her face as she saw a look of recognition on his face.
"Max, you can't be dead!" he told her shakily, still trying to get over the shock. "It was a dream, you're alive."
She shook her head slowly. "No, I died that night," she informed.
He shook his head forcefully. "No. You have your whole life ahead of you. You were meant to get married, have kids and be with your siblings," he cried desperately, "You're alive!"
It was breaking her heart to see him like this. He had to understand that she was gone. "I'm dead!" she shouted, "I'm here because you won't let me go."
"You're not dead!" he insisted again.
She gave him a sad look. "Logan, please just let me go."
He averted her gaze and when he finally raised his eyes to her face, his eyes were watering. "You're really gone, aren't you?" he whispered. She nodded, tears continuing to make their way down her face.
"There's so much I haven't told you. I need to tell you."
"I know, me too."
"I love you Max."
She smiled, "I love you too."
They stared at each other until she spoke, "Logan, please move on and be happy. Learn to live without me."
"I can't live without you Max, I really can't." Tears were sliding down his cheeks.
"Please," her voice echoed slightly.
Logan abruptly awoke, tearstains on his face. It all came crashing down. Max was gone.
He hastily wiped the tears off his face and rolled over. His heart jumped into his throat as he caught sight of a woman sleeping next to him. Her brown hair was unmistakable yet he tentatively reached out to touch her. His fingers brushed against her skin and he released a sigh of relief. Her eyes opened and she smiled the moment she saw him.
"Max," he breathed, his eyes drinking her in. She was about to comment on the fact that he was crying but before she could even open her mouth he had kissed her softly. He pulled away, touching her cheek affectionately. He pulled her closer to him and felt like he could never let her go. "I had this dream…" he began but trailed off as he choked on his words.
"My death," she finished knowingly. He nodded, exhaling heavily. "Logan, tell me what happened."
He shook his head, unable to speak. He vividly remembered what it felt like when he thought that she was dead. The uncontrollable grief had consumed him and he never wanted to feel like that again. He turned to his love and decided that maybe he should tell her what happened. So, he recounted everything he remembered. He told her that the first part of his dream was what happened that night they took down Manticore. He said that the second part was not real, just something his mind came up with. It was a dream within a dream.
When he finished, she consoled him, "I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you." He kissed him tenderly. Max grabbed his hand, "Come on."
Without question, he followed her and the two of them peered into the crib. There lay a beautiful child, sleeping soundly. Logan wrapped his arms around his wife as they gazed adoringly at their baby, captivated. He knew that if anything happened to either of them, he would fall apart, but for now, he was happy. They were happy. The world could have its problems, but Logan and Max had created their own world. This was their life.
