When Dreams Become Reality (10/10)
By
Guardian Angel (eyes_only1@yahoo.com)
1/14/01
Setting: After Beneath the Surface (my fic), and sometime after "Blah Blah,
Woof Woof."
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own any of
the characters from Dark Angel (I only wish I did!)...so please don't sue! :-)
Rachel, Mandy, Erin, Jen: Thank you girls, for all your help with
this, you're the best! I would've
either gone insane or killed myself if not for your help at times! ;-)
Author's Notes: Wow, ok, time for the
final notes here...I'd just like to thank all of you people who were kind
enough to leave reviews or send me comments, I'm addicted to feedback! :-) I appreciate all the comments, it helps me
to become a better writer. Sorry about
all the delays while writing this, I've had a lot of stuff going on these past
few weeks, as have my wonderful beta readers, so often it's taken me awhile to
get the parts out, I know. I hope it
was worth the wait! Anyway, I hope you
all enjoy, I definitely enjoyed writing it! *hugs to all*
Oh, and sorry guys,
but the technical science stuff is not very accurate...I'm basically going off
what I remember from biology two years ago, and what little info I could dig up
on Yahoo! without much effort, I'm in the mood to write but way too tired to do
an in-depth search for info. :-) Hope
no one cares that much!
*****
Part 10- Conclusion
"Logan?" Without bothering for an answer, Max headed
down the hallway towards his office. It
was pretty much a given that she'd find him there, anyway.
"In here
Max."
His voice reached her
from elsewhere just as she was about to enter his computer room. Changing course, she walked into his living
room instead.
Logan was there, along
with Doctor Jennifer Sheffield.
"Max,
hey." Logan smiled happily at her,
his ocean-blue eyes sparkling.
As she leaned against
the door jam, Max eyed the pretty woman sitting next to him. Though Dr. Sheffield had over fifteen years
already under her belt as a specialist in paralyzation cases, she was still
young, in her mid thirties. She had
been a child genius, completing medical school before she was twenty. She had a waterfall of blond hair that swung
to her waist, intelligent green eyes, and a perky, upbeat attitude.
Taking in how close
Jen leaned to Logan, how her smile brightened every time she looked at him, Max
wanted to hate her, she really did.
Only she couldn't, because Jen was the one who was going to make Logan
walk again.
Once they had returned
from Hawaii, t had taken Logan and Max almost two weeks to find Jen, and all of
two seconds once they met her to decide that she was perfect for the job of
deciphering the notes from the Brotherhood.
The lovely woman had moved into Logan's penthouse three weeks ago, and
had promptly devoted every waking hour to her research and studies, pouring
over the information the Brotherhood had so kindly provided. Every day she got closer to the answer, and
Max knew that the breakthrough they needed would come anytime now.
The Brotherhood had
collapsed with hardly a protest, barely a week after Max and Logan had returned
home. The broadcasts Eyes Only had sent
out through Seattle had aroused the public's fury. Logan had even managed to widen his hack, and send the message
out to cities all along the West Coast.
With the strident demand of the people at their back, the police had
quickly arrested the villainous members, and now they were all safely behind
bars.
All in all, our trip to 'paradise' was damn productive.
"Max?"
Her thoughts were
interrupted by Logan's questioning voice.
With a start she focused in on the here and now, sliding her private
musings into a corner of her brain to continue thinking about later.
"Hey, sorry. Mind was taking a side trip." The corner of her mouth turned up in a slightly
amused smile. "What's up,
kiddies? You paged?"
She wouldn't have
believed it possible, but his grin widened even more. He was practically bouncing in his seat.
"We've got it
Max! Jen found the last key we
needed!" For once, words failed
him, and before he had time to recover Dr. Sheffield stepped in.
"I found the last
RNA sequence we needed this morning, and after that it all just clicked. We're going to do the surgery tomorrow,
Bling has already said he will definitely be able to make it." After much discussion and research, they had
decided that it would be best if the DNA and RNA inserted into Logan were from
a male, instead of from Max. Jen
thought there would be less chance of rejection that way, and Bling had
promptly volunteered.
"Congratulations!" Despite the pang in her heart, Max didn't
have to fake her smile as she walked over to give him a quick hug. The familiar feel of his arms around her as
he returned the embrace brought much-too-recent memories swimming to the
surface, and she pulled back quickly, covering her turmoil with another
smile. "Ladies beware, we're soon
going to have a walkin', talkin' Logan Cale running around on the
loose."
Laughing slightly at
her joke, he snagged her hand before she could walk away, then promptly
released it as he sensed the undefined emotions boiling in her eyes. With Jen right there, he knew now was not
the time to ask her what was wrong, so he pushed it aside. "Can you get tomorrow off work? Please?" His cerulean blue eyes were quietly pleading. "I'd really like you to be there."
Her gaze darted
towards the doorway, then the window, before returning to rest on him
again. "Why? I mean, I can probably get it off, just fake
being sick and Normal'll practically shove me out the door, but why is it so
important that I'm there?"
"I don't know, it
just is. Reassurance, I guess. Someone to hold my hand while I scream, and
all that." He tried to inject a
note of levity into the conversation, but his amusement quickly faded away to
seriousness again. "I want you to
be there. Just in case..."
Understanding what he
wasn't quite able to bring himself to say, she sent him a comforting smile and
nodded. They all knew that despite Dr.
Sheffield's expertise, the operation was still very dangerous and there was the
slight chance that he might not live through it. "In that case, count me in.
What time do the games start tomorrow?"
"Eight. We want to start early, 'cause the
anesthesia requires that he go without breakfast, and I want to do it while I'm
still at my peak, not tired out."
There was the quiet ring of authority in Dr. Sheffield's voice as she
spoke.
"'K, I'll be
there. I'll see you two tomorrow. If I don't get back to work Normal will have
a hissy fit, I'm on my lunch hour."
Before she could swing
out the door and disappear, Logan's voice stopped her. "Max?
One more thing...you think you could swing by sometime tonight, spend a
little while with me? I'll cook dinner
if you'd like..."
When he smiled at her
like that, with his eyes all hopeful, it was nearly impossible for her to deny
him anything. "Sure. I'll see you around six then?"
He nodded, and as she
slipped out the door the smile faded from her face. Her eyes became shadowed, confused. She wanted Logan to walk, she really did, but she also knew that
it would change everything between them.
Once he was able to stand on his own, he wouldn't need her anymore, and
it would be time for her to step away, to stand back and let him resume his
life. As she jogged down the stairs,
the grim thought made her all the more convinced to enjoy herself tonight. After
all, it might be the last evening like this I spend with him...
***
The surgery went well,
with hardly a hitch throughout the entire process. Within a few hours of waking from the anesthesia, Logan claimed
he could feel a noticeable stiffness in his legs, along with a slight aching
pain. His words brought a cheer from
everyone, and hopes continued to rise at this good news.
Within two days, with a
little help from Bling, he was able to wiggle his toes and shift his legs
slightly. Immediately following this
discovery, Bling set up a strict regimen of exercises for him to do, and helped
him through the routine every day. Thus
started Logan's rapid road to recovery.
The next few months
were filled with his ongoing physical therapy, and trips to various
doctors. Though it seemed like ages to
him, soon Logan was able to walk short distances with the aid of a walker, and
shortly after that he was able to hobble around with a set of crutches, and
finally with only a cane.
The night he was able
to walk to Max and give her a hug for the first time since his accident was a
major highlight in his life, as was the first time he was able to take a walk
in the rain. Or walk to the local market
and buy groceries. Play a heated, if
short, game of basketball with Bling.
Do his own reconnaissance for his Eyes Only stories.
***
One evening, after a
particularly rough day of work about four months after Logan's successful
surgery, Max let herself into his penthouse.
She was exhausted, tired to the bone, and she was hoping to sweet-talk
Logan into fixing her dinner before she dragged her tired butt to bed.
As she walked down the
hall, she could hear the quiet murmur of voices coming from the family
room. She frowned. While one voice belonged to Logan, she
couldn't identify the other, and she really wasn't in the mood for
company. She had been planning on a
quiet evening alone…except for Logan of course.
Padding noiselessly up
to the doorway, she peaked in, careful to not reveal her presence. Upon seeing Jen Sheffield cozied up to Logan
on the couch her frown turned into a silent snarl.
While Jen had been at
least moderately subtle about her advances towards Logan in the beginning, when
she'd still been working for him, now she seemed to have dropped all pretenses
and was coming on to him with all the subtly of a ton of bricks. Despite the fact that the couch was big
enough to easily fit three people, she was sitting close enough to him that
their thighs touched, and her arm was draped over the back of the sofa. Her legs were crossed towards him, and she
leaned slightly towards him, her eyes never leaving his face as he talked. Unless it was to do a slow sweep down the
rest of his body.
Her face heated in a
mixture of anger and embarrassment as Logan laughed at whatever it was Jen had
just said to him. Obviously he didn't miss me that much, I don't see him pushing her
away. She had been so busy this
past week that she'd only been to see him twice, and the last time was three
days ago. Jen was probably all too eager to fill the void. Bitch.
Once again, though, she found herself unable to hate the pretty
doctor. After all, she had devoted the
last five months to Logan, continuing to drop by to check up on him long after
the surgery had been deemed a success and her job was technically
finished. Besides…can I really fault her for liking Logan? Their meaningless conversation was a
soft hum in her ears, in her anger nothing that was being said was registering
in her brain.
Turning away from the
door, she was about to creep down the hall and leave when sudden movement
caught her eye. What she saw when she
glanced back into the room brought her blood up to the boiling point: Logan and
Jen were kissing! Sharp waves of hurt washed through
her. After a moment, though, her
defense mechanisms kicked in, and her hurt started to transform into anger. As her vision swam red with fury Max pushed
away from the door, forcing her feet to move in the direction of the
elevator. She knew that if she didn't
get the hell out of there now that
she would commit some cardinal sin, probably something along the lines of
ripping Jen's head from her body. And then strangling Logan with her
trachea. With that thought she
slipped out the door and down to the street, gunning her motorcycle engine as
she raced away, desperate to loose herself in the comforting power of her
bike.
***
Logan pulled back from
the kiss and lifted his head as he heard a motorcycle engine being gunned down
on the street below. Shit, it's probably Max. I'd better deal with this quickly, she won't
like seeing Jen here…He had been taken completely off guard when Jen had
leaned over and planted an eager kiss on his mouth. While he hated to admit it, he was only human, and the warm
contact of lips on lips had surprised him into responding for a few short
seconds. He couldn't help but feel like
it was a betrayal of Max…even though he had been dreaming it was her he was
kissing. Better not tell Jen that… While
he valued Jen as a doctor and a friend, he had no sexual interest in her, and
he had thought he'd made that plenty clear over the course of their
relationship. Obviously not.
"Jen…" He pulled away from her, standing up as his
mind raced, trying to think of something to say to drive the point home without
hurting her any more than necessary.
"I'm flattered, I really am-"
Her smile was
sad. "Why do I feel a 'but' coming
on?"
She frowned at the
distance he had put between them, chewing on her bottom lip. He couldn't help but notice that the move
didn't look nearly as alluring on her as it did when Max nibbled on her lip
that way. "I'm flattered by your
attention, but I don't feel the same
way. I'm sorry if you ever got the
impression that I cared for you as more than a friend, my feelings for you just
aren't like that."
"OK, I can deal with that…do you mind if I ask
you one question?" Rising from the
sofa, she began to quietly gather together her purse and coat, preparing to
leave.
"Sure, go ahead." His slight smile was tinged with weariness;
this was only the icing on a very long day.
And he missed Max.
"Is it just me, or is there someone else you're
already involved with?" As she
stood posed in the doorway, her gaze was direct.
"Max. I
love Max." It was the first time
he had admitted it out loud, and he was slightly surprised at how good it felt
to say it.
Her smile was wistful. "She's a lucky woman…maybe you should tell her how you
feel."
"Yeah, I'm getting to it…" His answering smile was tinged with irony.
"Do yourself, and her, a favor…don't want too
long. Life's short, and everyone
deserves to know that they are loved." With
those parting words she turned and walked down the hall, letting herself out of
his penthouse.
Sinking back down to the couch, Logan shook his head
in wonder. As he sat there and pondered
the happenings of the day he was vaguely surprised that Max never showed up, he
had been sure that it was her motorcycle he'd heard earlier. Guess
not…just one that sounded like her. Or
maybe my wishful thinking.
***
Much later that night, Max was still on her bike,
speeding through the now-deserted streets of Seattle. While her thoughts had originally been angry, now the fury had
given way to pain that she was unable to conceal from herself. As always, the comforting feel of the wind
in her hair, coupled with the powerful thrum of the well-tuned engine between
her thighs had provided a soothing effect, allowing her to move past her
initial reaction and deal with her real feelings.
I should have
known…She's everything I'm not. Blond,
willowy, successful…normal. No worries
about seizures interrupting her day, or big brothers on a commando trip
bursting in to ruin the mood.
I guess this
just goes to prove that life's fucked up.
I should have started backing away sooner, as soon as we returned from
Hawaii. Then maybe it wouldn't hurt this bad.
Yeah, right. That trip was the
death knell I think, after pretending to be lovers for so long that the lines
between reality and dreams faded it's pretty much impossible to go back to the
quid pro quo relationship we originally had.
Stupid.
So what
happens now? I start pulling back,
that's what. I should just pick up and
haul my ass out of Seattle all together, make a clean break…but that would mean
leaving Cindy and Kendra, Sketchy and Herbal.
Somehow I think I'm going to need my friends in the weeks to come too
much for me to run away now. Besides,
that's not fair to them, ditching them at the spur of the moment just 'cause
some guy burned me.
So what choice
am I left with? A slow break…slowly
cutting down the amount of time we spend together, the depth that I depend on
him. Honestly it'll probably be more
painful this way, but…I just can't force myself to leave. Even though I know I should… Shoulda known
that it wasn't in the destiny of a genetically enhanced killing machine to find
love.
***
The next evening when Max answered Logan's page, he
noticed that she was more subdued than usual.
When she refused to talk about it he pushed it to the back of his mind,
figuring she'd either break down and tell him, or eventually get over it. There were more important things to think
about right then, he needed her to do some snooping for him. His legs just weren't quite strong enough to
allow him to do his own breaking and entering…besides, she was much better at
it than he ever had been.
So busy was he with
the excitement of finally being able to walk again, and all of the little
details and excitements that it entailed, that it was a long time before Logan
realized that Max was quietly, effectively, slipping out of his life.
******
Finished.
And before you all
start throwing rotten veggies at me, let me just say that *yes* I know this
wasn't the ending most of you were hoping for, and *yes* there is a sequel
coming, and *yes* it is already partially written. :-) It's all good guys! ;-) Please, don't kill me...*raises hands in
surrender* Anyone coming after me with
weapons will have my Logan clones set upon them. (In a BAD way, guys, get your
mind outta the gutter! *snickers*) *ducks behind couch to avoid any incoming
missiles*
Hmm…I guess I could be
nice and explain *why* I decided to end it this way. Basically, after doing a lot of thinking, I decided that I wanted
"Dreams" to concentrate more on how Logan was healed, with the side
effect of bringing the two of them closer together, of course. The sequel will deal with the changes in
their relationship. :-) Honestly I think that when he is healed it
will cause problems between them, I mean, she's kinda gotten used to him being
sort of dependent on her, and vice versa… But stay tuned for the sequel, which
just needs some fine tuning, for your happy ending. ;-) Oh, and then there's the other little fact
that I didn't really want to change the rating of my story in the middle. ;-)
*hint hint*
*****
Ok, for those of you
who haven't figured it out yet, the sequel was finished like six months ago,
and is called "Fade to Black."
If you can't find it on ff.net for some reason, you can find it (along with
all my other work) here: http://www.geocities.com/eyes_only1/
Enjoy! :-)
