Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be, including anything that creeps in from VS3.

A/N: Many thanks to the Almighty Betas, catherder and alaidh.

Sorry about the delay in getting this up, and for the shortness of the chapter. There's been some RL issues this week.

Chapter 25: A Spoonful of Sugar

Max returned after calling Aveta and pulled on some panties, feeling somewhat under-dressed for visitors. She gave Logan his t-shirt, but he left it beside him on the bed.

"Ten minutes. She was already on her way home."

Logan nodded. He had Eva cradled in one arm while he sponged her off. She had stopped whining as soon as he picked her up. Max held her hands out to Logan to take the baby from him. She sat at the end of the bed and tried to feed her, but Eva turned her face away after a few half-hearted sucks, apparently not hungry, or possibly feeling her mother's tension. She handed the baby back to Logan, realizing that her own worry probably wasn't helping, and fetched a bottle of water from the kitchen. That was slightly more successful. Eva accepted the drink from her father. As ever, Logan maintained his cool head under stress. Max took the washcloth and rinsed it out in the bathroom. She started to sponge the baby herself. Her ears pricked up a few minutes later as she heard the distant ping of the elevator, and left to go and open the door.

Logan heard the soft murmur of voices as they walked through the apartment. Aveta's rubber-soled shoes made little noise. As soon as they entered the room, Logan could see that the tall transgenic field medic had managed to extend her calming influence over Max. He could tell she had come straight from work – she was neatly dressed in a blue and white uniform, her auburn hair pinned back in a tidy bun at the back of her neck.

As Logan greeted her, Aveta's nostrils flared slightly. She was sensitive to the odors in the room, which she had vaguely scented on Max as she came in. Aveta gave Logan a knowing look and smiled. Logan, realizing that the field medic had picked up the lingering scent of his and Max's earlier activities, gave a self-deprecating shrug. They had nothing to hide from her. She had nursed Logan through the weeks of the Manticore virus cure, and had counseled and cared for him when the temporary cure for his paralysis, produced by Joshua's transfusion, had worn off. She had helped to deliver both children, and had all but moved in to ensure that Max obeyed doctor's orders when she became ill and threatened to miscarry Eva. She had been a daily visitor and had helped care for Logan when he returned home from the hospital after the accident that destroyed the exoskeleton and could have, again, ended his life several years before. No, neither of them had anything to hide from her, and they both had a great deal to be thankful for.

For her part, Aveta considered them one of her greatest successes, and never ceased to be pleased at what she had helped bring about. And if this meant she had to come and see a sick child in a room scented with the proof of their love and devotion – hell, she wished them all the luck in the world, and that there were more such successes.

"Hey, Logan," the transgenic smiled. "And hello to you, young lady." Aveta quickly stripped off the gloves she wore to protect her over-sensitive hands. She took the baby from Logan and looked at her critically, absent-mindedly wiping away a stream of dribble from Eva's chin with the washcloth. "You know she's teething?"

"We know," Logan responded, thinking of his shirt from earlier that evening.

"Fever of about 105. High, but I've seen higher." Aveta sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "Let me take a look at you, sweetie."

Aveta took in the baby's glowing cheeks and slight running nose. There was little else to go on. The field medic had a sudden thought as to what might be the problem.

"I think she has Roseola Infantum. We won't know for sure until the rash shows up…which won't be until after the fever breaks. Usually a couple of days, but in a half-X5, who can say? Sometimes there is no rash – just a grouchy kid with a fever, and sometimes, not even that."

"Roseola Infantum? What the hell is that?" Max asked.

"It's a virus," responded Logan. "A member of the herpes family…"

Aveta nodded her agreement. "It's not normally serious, but it can produce high fevers in some children – like we're seeing here."

"So…"

"Treat the fever – keep her cool. She's gonna be grouchy for the next few days. Give her plenty of fluids. Acetaminophen drops, if you can get them, would help."

"What about the rash?" Logan asked.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Keeping her cool and comfortable is the main thing. It isn't serious. The only real risk is febrile convulsions, but that shouldn't happen. If you're worried, call me again. I'll drop by in a couple of days, and see how you're doing, if you like."

Max smiled her thanks. "Guess there's a little more Cale in her cocktail than we thought." Max's small joke made both Logan and Aveta smile.

Aveta turned serious eyes on Max. "Yes, she does seem to have her daddy's immune system."

"Yeah, but her daddy's just fine." Max crossed the room and draped her arm across Logan's shoulders, leaning against him. "Thanks for coming, Aveta."

"No problem." She gently handed Eva back to her father, and pulled on her gloves, preparing to leave. She hesitated and turned back, giving Logan and Max both a quick hug. "Take care, Logan, Max."

"You, too, Aveta." Logan was mystified at the transgenic's sudden display of affection. She was normally cool, not wanting to be touched, an excellent medic, but a loner...solitary.

Max left to see Aveta out of the apartment. Again, he heard the murmuring voices and the click of the door. Max was back moments later, leaning against him as she stood by the bed. Logan reached his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. The other was still curved protectively around the baby.

"What was that all about?" he asked, his expression still somewhat bemused.

Max shrugged. "What, you complaining?" she teased. "I'd have thought that a fine specimen like yourself would like being hugged by a beautiful woman, even in front of your wife."

"Max!"

"I keep telling her to loosen up...maybe she's finally taking my advice."

Logan smiled at the thought. Max touched her finger on his cheek, provoking another expression of bemusement. "What was that for?"

"Rubbing the cuteness in," she grinned. "Never could resist a guy with dimples."

"You going soppy on me?"

"Nope. Logan?"

"Yes?"

"Acetaminophen. We don't have any." Max was suddenly thoughtful.

"We can get some in the morning." Logan yawned and rotated his shoulders, easing the kinks in his neck.

"Get some rest." Max plucked Eva from her father's grasp, spun on her heel, and left the room. Logan stared after her for a moment. When Max looked in a few minutes later, he had the light out and was deep asleep.

"Well, kid," she murmured into Eva's hair, "guess it's just us." She kissed Eva's head, smoothing her cheek across the baby's soft, downy hair. Max made a quick decision. Leaving the front door unlocked, but closed, she took the stairs to the roof, wedging it open, and found a vantage point where she could sit and look out over the edge, leaning her back against a piece of the building. She was above their apartment rather than the central, higher penthouse.

There was a breeze blowing, comfortable without being cold, off Puget Sound. This was exactly what Max had been hoping to take advantage of. She'd thrown a baby blanket over her shoulder in case it got too cool, but for now, it was pleasant. It wasn't the Space Needle, but it was high, and it was home, the first real home she'd ever had.

"Well, honey, it's a funny old life." She leaned comfortably into the framework around the skylight above the hallway and loosened the top of the bathrobe. This time, the baby started to suck happily enough. "Fifteen years ago, if you'd said I'd be living in one of the most exclusive high rises in Seattle – that I'd be happy…married…kids…the whole disaster, I'd have laughed. Now look at me – a responsible member of the community – wife, mother, moo-cow," she laughed at herself. "Funny…if I'd realized what that statue would bring me…" she paused, watching the blinking stars. "I'd have run a…No. You know what, kiddo? I don't think I'd have done anything any differently." Max smiled to herself. "Bast. Cats are supposed to be inscrutable…she had her own plans." She looked down at her daughter's fair hair. "The greater the trial, the better the reward. And if your daddy, and you, and your brother are my reward, then, hell, it's sure been worth it. 'Coz all things considered, my strange little life hasn't turned out so bad."