Title: Someone to Watch Over Me
Author: Owl
E-mail: Owlthepsychica@aol.com
Archive: Only if you tell me first. Pooh Bah already has permission, though.
Rating: R
Summary: Jae, Logan's ex-wife's sister, comes back from college. Zack's in town, too. They could help each other out…if they don't kill each other first. It oughta be interesting because I found the closest thing to the male version of heat that could even conceivably be biologically possible.
Spoilers: "411 on the DL", so you know who Valerie is.
Feedback: I like it, I love it, I need more of it!
Disclaimer: Jae is my character, but everything else associated with Dark Angel belongs to Fox, James Cameron, et al.
Notes: Thanks to Anna, Claire, and especially Cara, my "idea bouncer offer person," for betaing!
~~~
"Honey, I'm home!"
Logan, looking up, met Max's quizzical look. Instead of giving her an explanation, he asked, "Could you get the door?"
Max shrugged. "Sure."
She strode over to the door and opened it.
On the other side, her hand raised to knock again, was a girl about Max's age, with red hair and blue-green eyes. She looked vaguely familiar, but Max couldn't place the face.
"Logan!" the girl called, grinning. "Replace me already?"
Logan came up behind Max. When he saw who his visitor was, he grinned. "No one could ever replace you, Jae."
"Nice to know someone cares," she joked. She walked in and knelt by the wheelchair, giving Logan a big hug. "I heard about the accident. Well, not that it was an accident," she added sardonically. "But"--she looked at Max--"I can see that hasn't slowed you down one bit."
Logan reddened. "We're not…like that."
Jae raised her eyebrows. "Why not?"
Max was still wondering exactly what relationship this girl, Jae, had with Logan. No one had explained anything to her yet. Hell, that would be too easy.
"So how's my favorite brother-in-law?" Jae inquired.
Oh. Problem solved.
"Well, ex-brother-in-law, technically."
"You know, a simple 'good' would have been fine."
Now Max realized where she had seen that face. Valerie. Logan's ex-wife. The smile was different, the nose more petite, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
Jae wasn't particularly tall, but she wasn't really short either. She had long glossy hair that couldn't be called anything but red. Except for a light dusting of freckles, her skin was clear. Each ear was graced with three piercings on her earlobe plus one higher up. Her ears were the only place that was pierced, as far as Max could see. If Jae was pierced anywhere else, well, she didn't really want to know about it.
She was wearing khaki cargo pants, a denim jacket, and a tank top that let a thin line of pale skin peek through at her waist. Very stylish. Oh, look, another place she was pierced: her bellybutton had a small silver stud in it. Her eyes were blue-green, bright, curious, and slightly slanted, like a cat's. Now that Max thought about, she decided Jae was small after all. It was the way she carried herself that made her appear taller than she really was. She was well-built, but still managed to look slender and lithe.
"How's Stanford?" Logan asked.
Jae shrugged. "Boring. How's Seattle?"
"Same old, same old."
She glanced at Max. "Apparently not. Hey, I'm Jae."
"Max."
"Nice to meet you."
"Same."
"Oh." That was Logan, realizing Jae and Max didn't know each other. "Jae is Val's sister. She's a bio major at Stanford University."
"Genetic engineering, to be exact. Even though he and Val got divorced, Loogie here"--Logan winced at the old nickname--"still found it in his heart, and his wallet, to put me through college." Jae turned back to Logan. "So, have you heard from Sister Mine yet?"
"Last I heard, she was hittin' it up with some scumbag," Max interjected.
Jae made a face. "They're getting married next month. How disgusting is that? She's actually marrying that sleaze." She shook her head. "I'm ashamed to call her my sister. Alcoholism is one thing, but bad taste in men is something else altogether."
"Hey," Logan protested.
"I mean, except Logan," she amended.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." She looked from Logan to Max and back again. "So, what's the story with you two?"
Logan sighed. Subtlety was not Jae's strong suit.
~*~