She dried the water off her face; she had just stopped crying and was trying to get rid of the tear tracks before she went out to face Logan. She wasn't looking forward to listening to him tell her that the virus was cured, because she knew that it wouldn't go the way it had in her dream, the way she so desperately wanted it to go. She hadn't realized how much she truly loved Logan until that dream, how much she actually wanted to be his wife. She never thought that she was the type of girl to want that, a husband and a family. And maybe she wasn't that type of girl until she met Logan but he changed her, made her want to be the girl that she used to make fun of with OC. She never realized how much she had changed until she was standing in Logan's bathroom, in front of his mirror, picturing what her life would be like if she and Logan got married. She knew it would be great, better than great, her life would be amazing. But it wasn't a reality, the reality was that she was a chimera, half human and Logan would never want to marry her let alone want her to have his children. 'God wouldn't I love to have his children, to hold a little baby in my arms, to be a mother, like Tinga. But I wouldn't be like Tinga, because Logan knows about me I didn't keep it a secret and I would never leave him or our baby like Tinga did. It wasn't her fault she that she left them, I'm not being fair to her, she thought that it was for the best. But still I would never leave my family behind.' She needed to stop thinking like that it was just going to end up hurting her more when she walked out of the bathroom and Logan didn't throw himself at her and ask her to be his wife. Gathering up all her courage and putting all the discipline lessons from Manticore to good use, she walked out of the bathroom to face the hardest thing she would ever face.

She walked out of the bathroom to find Logan leaning against the room divider waiting for her, "Max are you okay you've been in there for close to an hour?"

"Yeah Logan I'm fine, just not feeling all that great."

"Well I have some good news that might make you feel better, why don't we go to the living room and I'll tell you everything."

They walked into the living room, and sat down on the couch. Max unconsciously sitting further away from Logan than normal, proximity to the man you love when your heart is about to be broken was not a good thing.

"Well while you were asleep Sam called and it seems that because of all the blood transfusions Alec gave you the virus was wiped out of your system. You had lost so much blood and Sam had to transfuse you so many times that you don't have any of your original blood left. Alec's overpowered yours and killed the virus." By the end of his explanation his hands had migrated over to hers, he was so wrapped up in his story that he didn't notice. When it was over and he realized what he was doing he snapped his hands away, 'Damn Cale you said you didn't want to rush or push her so you hold her hands, genius.'

Tears welled up in Max' eyes when Logan ripped his hands away only cementing her earlier worry that he didn't want her, trying to think of a reason to get out of there she said, "Well I guess I gotta go thank Alec, see ya." It wasn't the most graceful of exits but she had to get out there before she broke down in front of him.

"Max wait! Why don't you seem like you are happy that the virus is cured?"

"No I am happy, it's great. Now we don't always have to worry about accidentally touching. It's just that Alec caused this and I needed to thank him for saving my life anyway and well now I just have more the thank him for. So I'm gonna go you know…say thank you. See ya later."

"Max you can't go."

She was getting annoyed now, 'Why can't he just let me leave, he doesn't want me he's made that clear he doesn't need to make it any worse.' "Why can't I go Logan? Sam said that I was fine now; you've told me what you needed to tell me. Why do I still have to stay here?" She didn't mean for it to come out so mean but she was hurting and she didn't want him to see just how much.

Logan flinched, 'I didn't realize that she was so sick of me. Maybe me keeping her here wasn't a good idea.' "Sorry Max I didn't realize that you wanted away from here, from me, so much. But you can't leave tonight because it's 12:00am and all the checkpoints are closed."

"Damn it!" She swore louder then what she meant too, and flinched at the look it caused Logan to make.

"Why are you so eager to get out of here all of a sudden Max? Are you really that sick of me?" Logan was hurt, he honestly thought that the only thing standing in their way was the virus and now that's gone but she still didn't want him.

"No Logan I'm not sick of you I – I –I just –."

"You just what Max?"

"I just need to get out; I've been cooped up for so long I'm starting to go stir crazy." It was only a partial lie, "Me wanting to leave has nothing to do with you, I promise." 'Okay so a complete lie, but it's better than telling him that you love him and want him and him looking at you with disgust.'

"You promise that it has nothing to do with me." He didn't want to lose her over something that he could possibly fix.

"I promise," She walked over and gave him a quick hug, and instantly regretted it, then said, "I just need to get out, I'll be back in a couple hours okay. Don't wait up."

She smiled at him and turned to the door.

She had just closed the door and sighed with relief when the door opened again. She turned to find Logan putting on his coat and holding his keys. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I was coming to look for you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't buy what you told me earlier and I'm not going to let you walk out of my life without trying to fix whatever I've done."

"Logan you haven't done anything, it's not your fault."

"Then come back in here and tell me what's wrong. If it's not my fault then you shouldn't have any problem telling me about it."

She sighed she really didn't have the energy to get into this tonight, she was about to try to make a getaway when she looked into his eyes. What she saw there surprised her; she saw just how much Logan really did want to know what was wrong and how much he thought that it was his fault. At that moment she decided that she at least owed him an explanation, she loved him enough to hurt herself to make him happy. "Okay let's go back inside and I'll tell you."

Logan smiled a bright smile that made her insides melt, 'God why can he do that to me? It's not fair, he smiles like that and I want to give him anything he wants.'

"Great, I thought that it was going to take more convincing that it did." He was happy that it didn't, the fact that she didn't resist talking to him about her feelings gave him some hope that she did want a relationship. After all aren't relationships about trust?

"Yeah well I'm tired," Max said attempting to act causal, even though she didn't feel it.

"Must be really tired," Logan joked back.

They walked back into the living room, and sat on the couch, "Seems like this is where we're having all of our important conversations lately." Logan joked again.

She only smiled; she was preparing herself for the humiliation that followed her confession.

"So Max what's going on? There was a time when you were excited at the possibility of the virus being cured and now that it is you don't even want to be in the same room as me. What happened? What has changed? Have your feelings for me changed? Because you know that if they did it would be okay, I'd still be your friend, I would still want to be in your life."

"Do you want my feelings for you to have changed?" She asked, he was making it easier for her, and she didn't think he even knew it.

"God no Max, I love you why would I want you to not love me anymore?"

"Because maybe you didn't love me anymore?" She said feeling every bit her young age.

"Why wouldn't I love you anymore? Do you honestly think that the feelings that I have for you could go away? Just like that?" Logan couldn't believe it, 'She's having doubts about me loving her, her! I would have to be stupid not to.'

"I don't know, because you have finally realized what I am and maybe most importantly what I'm not"

"What aren't you Max?" He couldn't understand where all her doubts were coming from.

"Human, I'm not human."

Logan's head shot up in surprise, "Yes you are, you are every bit as human as I am. You're every bit as human and the people out there, more so even."

Tears welled in her eyes, "But I'm not human Logan, I was made in a lab, I'm a science experiment."

"Well if that is true then Manticore did something right, because I couldn't imagine anything more perfect." He said looking deep into her eyes, he reached up and cupped her face, "There's nothing inhuman about you, nothing. And there is nothing wrong with you because you were "made in a lab" the only thing wrong with that is how much you have missed out on because of it. You don't know what love is and how to recognize it when someone loves you more than anything. That is the only thing wrong with you being made in a lab Max, and believe me it's nothing serious, because I get the chance of showing you the things that you have never known before, like how to feel loved like you are the only thing that matters in this world. Because Max it's true, you're loved that way. You mean the world to me, nothing in the world is worth while anymore unless you are in the world with me, enjoying the things in the world with me. You make my world worth while, and don't you ever forget that!"

Tears where streaming down her face now, she never realized that he cared so much for her. The emotional side of her just wanted to accept that he loved her and fall into his arms forever, but the logical side of her, the side of her that has kept her safe all these years had questions to ask first and they would not be denied. "Why? Why do you love me so much?"

"I've told you this before remember, because there is no one in this world like you, no one that cares as much as you or tries to hide that they care so much like you. There's no one in this world with the grace or the brains or the beauty that you have. No one in this world compares to you. And that's not just because you were made to be that way. You were made to be a solider to care about your unit and no one other than your unit and here you are with me saving people you don't even know. Befriending people like me, or Cindy or the other guys. You are so much more than Manticore, and there's one thing about you that matters more than anything else. And it's something that Manticore can't take credit for; it's your heart and the sense of equality that comes with a heart like yours. You don't care if people are weak, or strong, whole or broken; you care about them all the same. And you have a hard time admitting that because Manticore bred it into you to not care, but see in caring you beat them. If you didn't do anything else you beat them just by caring, even before you burnt down Manticore, you destroyed them. Because you did the one thing they wanted you to be incapable of, you cared. So really there's no way to not love you Max, at least not for me. I love you Max and I don't want you to ever doubt that, I love you so much and I want nothing more that to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Really? You really want to be in a relationship with me? Really want to spend your life with me?" She was shocked, maybe this wasn't how her dream went, but that was okay because this was better, this was real. And that is better than any dream any day.