"Well, I'm off to the dining hall," Casey announced. "I'm starving. And I will covertly ask around about hacking into government databases."

"Thank you," Logan and Maddie said at the same time.

Once Casey was out of the room, Logan looked at Maddie for a long moment, trying to decide whether or not it was okay to kiss her. Logan really, really wanted to kiss her.

"Ok," Logan said quietly. "It's just us. I promised myself that I wouldn't push you, but I have to ask you something. And it's okay if you don't want to answer, or you don't answer the way I'm hoping, but I have to know. It's killing me not knowing."

Logan paused and waited for a response. Maddie raised one eyebrow at his rambling and said, "Well go ahead then. I'm aging over here."

"Are we dating or not?"

Maddie was silent for a moment considering. "I think so," she said finally. "I just. . . " she trailed off, and her hands started to shake.

Bolder now, Logan reached across the space between them and took Maddie's trembling hands in his own. "Tell me what you're thinking about right now," he said firmly. "I want to be here for you Mad Dog, but I can't unless you let me in."

Maddie refused to meet his eyes, but she continued anyway. "Whenever I think about being your . . . girlfriend . . .I hear that word in Stefan's voice. Not as an endearment, but as a taunt."

Logan stroked her fingers with his own, and said softly, "that makes sense."

Maddie shook her head angrily. "It doesn't," she spat, but the anger wasn't directed at Logan. Instead it was directed inward. And Logan swore he could feel his heart shattering into a million pieces as he witnessed Maddie's pain and remembered his own.

"Hey," Logan said "You're doing great. And no matter what you think, Mad Dog, you're not alone in this. I've been where you are right now. And I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I found my way out."

Maddie's small body leaned into Logan's shoulder, and a long breath escaped her lungs. Logan wrapped her in his arms and rested his head on top of Maddie's small one.

"Let me help you, Mad," he whispered into her hair. "And let me love you."

Maddie was quiet for a long time. Like a really, really long time. So long that Logan started to wonder if she had fallen asleep, but he didn't dare move a muscle to find out.

Finally, she whispered quietly, "Ok."

"Okay?" Logan asked, not entirely sure he hadn't imagined her tiny voice in the stillness.

Maddie nodded against his shoulder. "You said you know the way out," she said tentatively. Her voice was cracking, and barely audible, as she continued. "I don't want to keep living like this."

Logan felt his heart cracking in two as Maddie's terrified voice echoed in his ears. Maddie was the bravest person he had ever met, and yet here she was, curled up in his arms, terrified and looking to him for protection. Well goddamnit, Maddie had protected him to hell and back, and he wasn't about to let her down.

"Okay," he said firmly. "But it's not going to happen overnight, Mad. Trauma doesn't just go away when you leave it alone long enough. You have to work through it, and process it, it order to really move on."

Maddie nodded again, but did not speak. Logan felt the weight of her expectations, and tried his best not to shy away from them.

"There's something about what happened in Alaska that you haven't fully processed and come to terms with," he continued. "That's why you can't move on. It's why your hands start to shake, and why you sleep outside my room, and why you won't let me call you my girlfriend."

Logan felt Maddie recoil at the word, but her reaction only served to prove his point.

"Only you know what that is, Mad," he said gently. "And the first step is to admit it to yourself."

Maddie pulled away from him and stood by the window, her silhouette outlined in the light of the setting sun. Logan's heart thumped loudly in his chest, but he swallowed hard and forced himself to focus. This was far more important.

"With my mom. . ." Logan started, but he found the words were harder now. He had to force them past his lips. And he realized that he hadn't been this vulnerable with Maddie - with anyone - in a long time. "It took a long time," he admitted. "But eventually, I realized the reason I couldn't move on was because I couldn't forgive myself for what happened."

Maddie turned, but didn't come any closer. "That's pretty stupid," she said quietly. "You saved her, Logan. We weren't even in the room when the Russians grabbed her."

Logan laughed, but it sounded forced even to him. "I didn't say it was logical," he admitted. "In fact, it's usually not logical at all. It's about as logical to expect a ten-year-old to notice a bunch of Russians are terrorists, and not regular Russian chefs, as it is to expect a sixteen year-old girl to single-handedly stop a highly-motivated kidnapper from making off with the President's son, who idiotically advertised his safe-house on Twitter."

Maddie shook her head, then turned and held Logan's gaze.

"But I should have seen him."

Logan sighed, loudly enough to make sure Maddie heard it from across the room.

"Well, you didn't," Logan said quietly. "And you have to accept it, Mad. You can't move on if you keep beating yourself up over something that happened five months ago and 2,000 miles away."

"You almost died," Maddie snapped.

"No," Logan said forcefully. "You almost died, Maddie. It's been five months and when I close my eyes, I can still see you laying motionless at the bottom of that ravine. . ." Logan's voice trailed off as the though grew too painful, the image to vibrant. "I can still see your blood dripping into the snow. I can still see you placing your body between me and certain death . . . "

Logan felt Maddie's small arms wrap around his waist with more force than should have been possible given her size. He rested his head against Maddie's, and a tear slid involuntarily from the corner of his eye and into Maddie's hair. "I can still feel what it's like to lose you," Logan whispered, desperately. "And Maddie, it is unbearable."

"I didn't know, Logan," she whispered softly.

"It's ok," Logan nodded slowly.

Maddie brushed her fingers against Logan's cheek. "We're going to make it out of this, together."

"I know, Mad Dog," Logan said, kissing Maddie's forehead. "I wouldn't have it any other way."