chapter2

Title: Design

Author: aegean

E-mail: aegean11@hotmail.com

Genre: Story Angst, Romance, Action-- Max/Logan shippery

Rating: R

Summary: This chapter takes place sometime after Female Trouble and Cape Haven. Max is at the top of the Space Needle thinking about the events of the last few days.

Disclaimer: Dark Angel is a Fox /Cameron/Eglee vehicle. I get no money. I do it for fun/practice Please don't sue me.

Notes: This is my first chaptered fanfic. I have planned for 5 chapters—hopefully something like one a week but who knows. Chapter 2 took me a while to work through. I hope you guys like it.. Please R&R. Good/Bad whatever. Advice. Anything works for me.

Chapter 2

Reconciliation

Logan just sat there in silence for what seemed like hours reliving the events of the past few days --few hours. He couldn't figure out how things had gone from near perfection to the scene that had just occurred. He could only sit, staring at the door that Max had just closed. Her parting words at least left him some hope, but they also told him that things would never be the same.

The sincerity, passion, and frustration in every word she uttered had overwhelmed him. She didn't care about his situation. She only knew that she needed him. He knew that admission was particularly difficult for her. She spoke of the fear that they both shared. She even told him that she knew that she would be with him. And, as he sat there thinking of everything she had said he became ill. He could only think of how he had treated her.

"God Logan, what's wrong with you," he said through a clenched jaw into the darkness. He remained still for a few more moments and then willed himself to move. He got as far as the middle of the living room before stopping again, consumed by thought. /She turned down every man who asked to dance with her in favor of spending time with me. She didn't do it out of pity, dammit, she did it out of respect, friendship, and love./ He continued increasingly helpless as his anger mounted. Functioning solely on auto-pilot, he wheeled himself through his room and into the bathroom, still trying to understand everything. /She is so strong. She could kill a man if she wanted to, and yet she has known so many men who have hurt her./ He didn't know why he was in the bathroom, but in a dazed manner, he reached for a glass on the sink and filled it with water. /Lydecker and Manticore hurt her physically but others who beat their children and drank themselves into violence, hurt her hopes for finding anyone decent in the future./ His hand began to grip the glass with more force. /But still, she seeks out a normal future and finds what she thinks is a normal man, but he turns out to be completely absorbed in self-pity…I let her down completely and still she cares. She stood in the hallway of my home, a home which she almost considers her own, and told me that she would take me anyway she could get me./ And at that final thought, the pressure that Logan had slowly applied to the glass became too great and the glass gave way. It broke into three shards, one of which cut him. He looked down at his bleeding hand and stared for a moment. He felt nothing. Finally, he reached for the peroxide in the medicine cabinet and doused his hand with it. He then grabbed a washcloth and hastily wrapping it around his hand left the bathroom.

He thought that he should call her, but he didn't know what he could possibly say to make things right. Besides, she expected him to just take some time and think about everything. /God she knows me so well. She probably wouldn't answer a page now anyway. No phones at the top of the Space Needle./

In his bedroom, on his bed, he saw the discarded robe Max had been wearing earlier. He picked it up and held it close noticing their mingled scents within the material. He suddenly threw it across the room. "How could I be so wrapped up in myself? God I'm an idiot," he mumbled into the darkness. He sat there in silence for some time before managing to take off his clothes and climb into bed. He wanted to sit and think about everything, but he was so angry and so drained, he ended up falling asleep. His only decision was that he would deal with it in the morning when he was thinking clearly.

--

Max sat at the top of the Space Needle and waited for the sun to come up. She knew she would have to deal with Cindy's questions sooner or later but the new day would make it a little easier to get it over with. When daybreak came she left.

She walked into her apartment and thought she was in the clear. She crept quietly to her bedroom and fell onto the bed. She hadn't realized how tired she was. She could actually use the two hours of sleep she was about to get. Just as she was about to drift off, Cindy came into the room and sat at the edge of her bed.

"So?"

"So…what," Max replied groggily.

"Damn, you guys find a way to screw things up every time," Cindy said shaking her head.

"I really don't want to discuss my night right now," Max said as she turned her head to face Cindy.

"OK, but if he hurt you boo, he and I are gonna have words."

"You know I'd bring on the hurt if he ever touched me," she said flatly as she rolled onto her back.

"Now you know that ain't the hurt Original Cindy's talkin' bout." Cindy reached over and began stroking Max's hair in a comforting way. She remained that way for a few seconds before Max spoke again.

"Really, I'm fine…I just need some sleep right now. I'll see you in a few." The withdrawn nature of her words told Cindy that she needed more time.

Max tried to close her eyes again, but eventually sat up on her bed unable to sleep. She sensed something was different. Looking over to the old bureau against her wall, she saw the dozen white roses sitting there in a high glass jar. She immediately fell back against her bed and let out a sigh of exasperation as she remembered when she received them.

--

Max woke up three hours later. She climbed out of bed and decided that she needed another bath. 'Two baths in two days,' she thought. 'Talk about overindulgence.' She went into the kitchen to start the tedious process of boiling water and found Cindy sitting there eating breakfast. She walked past her and grabbed some bread. She went to turn on the water and remembered about the busted pipe. She gave up and they her head into her hands in defeat.

"I fixed the pipe last night," Cindy said in between bites as she watched the scene. "You can wash." Max looked up at her and then grabbed the pot and began to fill it. "So…you ready to tell Original Cindy about last night."

"No, but since you probably wont let it rest… We went out and had a good time until the end of the evening. He got depressed and then we got into a fight."

"About what?" Max didn't respond quickly enough, because Cindy began to formulate an answer to her own question. "Wait…let me guess…something about the chair." Max still didn't look at her. "Uh-huh, Original Cindy doesn't need you to tell me…he got depressed over the chair, got angry, took it out on you, and now my boo's depressed."

"Girl, I am not depressed," Max interjected, finally looking up. "I told him he had to deal with his issues and then I left." She was finally getting her spirit back and was ready to talk.

"And now you're sulking."

"Look, he needs to deal with his own self-pity. I have enough issues of my own. I just told him that the chair doesn't matter to me. He really thought it did. Now, he needs to think about what that means. I can't help him with that."

"So now what?"

"I don't know," she said as her voice dropped off again. "I told him to call me when he was ready."

"Think he will. I mean men are like that. All that pride makes them stupid. That's one of the reasons Original Cindy has nothing to do with them." Max continued to boil her water while Cindy discussed the finer points of male pride. During this time, Max decided that her best course of action with Logan was to follow what she said and just wait until he came around. She couldn't approach him because he needed to be ready to move forward on his own.

Max took her bath and then went back into the kitchen. Cindy said a few more things about men and Max finally had to walk over and say, "well despite all their issues I still kind of like 'em. They can be useful for a few things." She paused for a second, "really only three things," and then turned and left the kitchen without further explanation.

--

"Logan," Bling said loudly as he walked into the apartment. "I'm giving you fair warning just in case you have company and are still entertaining." Bling figured that Logan was probably alone, be he knew that Logan and Max had gone out the evening before and hoped maybe they had come to an understanding. "But that doesn't mean you can get out of your therapy this morning."

Logan woke up when he heard Bling's voice. He had completely forgotten about his session and wanted no part of it. However, before he could respond, Bling was at his door.

"Ah, too bad, you're alone. So why aren't you out of bed. You have no excuse to be in it."

"Go away. I don't feel like it today."

"Ah, apparently the night did not end well." Bling went to Logan's bureau and threw him a shirt. "So…what did you do? Please tell me you didn't ask her to jump out of her evening gown to go on an Eyes Only mission."

"Why do you always assume its my fault."

"Well, wasn't it?"

"Well…yes, but there were extenuating circumstances."

"Right. You say that a lot. So what happened?" Bling waited a moment for a response, but, when Logan said nothing, he turned to leave.

"I... its just that…well… she's a healthy beautiful woman and I have nothing to give her."

"I see and what did she say when you told her this…because I assume you did."

"She told me that I was basically and idiot and that she needed me and wanted me as I am." He turned his face toward the window. "She told me she would take me any way she could get me." There was a long pause. "Oh God I was such an idiot last night."

"Yeah, sounds like it. And, if you've given me any indication of how you can get when you're feeling sorry for yourself, then I would have to agree that you were probably an idiot."

"How do I fix this," he said as he turned back to look at Bling.

"What did she say?"

"She told me that I should call her when I get over my pity."

"Well…sounds like she still wants to make whatever it is you two have work. My advice, whatever you do, don't call her now. You clearly haven't dealt with anything yet."

"I know. But what should I do? I can't lose her."

"For starters, you can quit being so melodramatic about everything." Bling hadn't meant to be so blunt, but he just couldn't help it. Sometimes Logan, if you're thinking that you can get her something or cook her dinner to make it better…don't. There is no quick fix. You can only do what she asks, and that will take time. Find a way to not pity yourself and realize that you are a very lucky man. Think about the person you are and the person she is and spend this time learning to trust her feelings about you. She obviously trusts your feelings about her or she definitely wouldn't have bothered. The girl doesn't strike me as one who lets her emotions get the better of her at the drop of a hat. If she said those things to you, then they're for real." Bling paused to make sure Logan was still with him. Then he continued, "Ultimately, I think you're gonna need her help with this, but for now, you both need time."

"Time…right. Look Bling, I really don't want to…"

"You have to work out," Bling interrupted "Don't pity yourself man. That's not a step forward." Logan decided that further protest would be useless so he submitted to an afternoon of physical therapy. He reasoned that it would take his mind of Max for a while.

--

The week was long. Max went to work, went to Crash, and then went home. She raced her bike through the streets at night and checked her pager throughout the day. She hadn't seen or heard from Logan. She began to think that she had pushed him too far. He had never been out of contact for any great length of time. Even when she brought him the dirt on Valerie, he wasn't distant for long.

Logan spent that week researching Seatel and fighting the urge to call Max. He had been thinking a lot about what Bling had said and spent many hours envisioning his future with Max and the chair. He slowly began to realize that a life with Max, even in the chair, was better than a life without her. He discovered that his insecurities were more of a detriment than the chair ever could be and that he would have to acknowledge that if he wanted to be with her. It took only three days to get to that point. In fact, the harder part for him was figuring out the right way to approach her. In the end, he settled on simple honesty, no dramatic flourishes, no food.

--

"Boo, I'm goin' out to hang with Lana…whatcha gonna do today."

"Nothing, I think I'll just hang out here."

"I'm worried about you boo," Cindy said as she poked her head into Max's room.

"I'm cool." Max was laying on the bed in pajama shorts and a t-shirt staring in the general direction of her flowers.

"Aiight." Cindy grabbed her bag and walked over to the front door. She opened it and turned to leave almost falling over Logan just as he was about to knock. She shook her head at him and then stepped in to the hall.

"I know what went down. I also know I told you that if you ever hurt her I would kick your ass. So what do you have to say for yourself."

"Well, as long as you let me put the flowers down before you kick my ass, I'd say that I deserve everything you dish out."

"You know that chair wont stop me from doing it."

"I would hope not," he said with a half smile. "I'm told that it doesn't really matter that I'm in the chair. If you didn't kick my ass, I would consider it an insult." At that statement, Cindy for a flicker of a second could see why Max liked him.

"Man, I knew you were strange, always said that to Max, but now you might be crazy."

"Yeah well a week without Max can do that to a person."

"Uh-huh," she said slowly, "so I guess you want to get inside and give her those flowers."

"Yeah," he replied cheeks blushing a bit. Then, he looked back up at Cindy. "So, how's she been?"

"Well, I'll show you," she said stepping back into the apartment. "Don't say anything just head to her room."

"OK" he said half-questioningly and half worried.

"Boo I'm taking off. Don't spend all day in bed waiting for roller boy to call."

"I've never done anything so pathetic." There was a long pause and Logan who was near Max's door looked back at Cindy who just shrugged. As she turned to finally leave, Max yelled, "I just don't understand why he hasn't called."

"Couldn't, phones don't work." A chill went through Max's body when she heard his voice. She sat up on her bed and saw him in the doorway. She heard the front door close and realized she was alone --with Logan.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Logan looked at her sitting on the bed and then realized he was staring. He broke contact and his eyes darted across her room trying to buy some time before he was forced to speak again. His eyes stopped on the flowers in the vase on her bureau. He didn't really know where to start with her so he began there.

"You still have the flowers." It was more a statement of surprise rather than a question.

"Yeah, I figured if you didn't call before they died then we were going to have serious problems," she said flatly while staring at the flowers, still unprepared to look at him.

"Well then I'm glad I came when I did. I've brought reinforcements." Logan handed her a dozen yellow roses. She took them and laid them on her bed and turned back to really look at him. He hadn't really changed, still sported stubble and bed-head. /Figures he wouldn't shave before coming over./ But something was different about him. There seemed to be a little more life in his eyes and it gave her the urge to let everything go. The desire to just pull him next to her was overwhelming. I reminded her of how she felt that terrible day that he almost ended it all. She wanted him near her then too. But, things hadn't changed then and this time she knew better. She knew that in order for things to change--really change, then they had to talk everything out as Logan and Max, not Eyes Only and the x-5.

"I've missed you," he began quickly. Max began to respond but Logan stopped her. "Before you say anything, just let me get this out." Max nodded her head in compliance. "Thanks. Ok… I'm not going to make any excuses for my behavior because I seem to do that a lot." Max sat listening to him silently. "You've forced me to come to terms with more things in the past week than I have in the past several months. I am in a chair right now and duration of time in the chair aside, for now, it is a fact that I have to accept. However, just because I accept that fact doesn't mean that I have to give up the hope of walking." Logan became increasingly more comfortable with his own words. "I thought for the longest time that if I allowed myself to accept the chair, I would have to give up the hope of walking along with the hope of you. I was like that as a child…all or nothing. I was as wrong then as I am now. I was an idiot the night of the party…I've been an idiot for months and I know it. You've been by my side proving with every action that you care, and I still threw my anger and resentment about my situation in your face. I have never been more sorry about anything in my life." He reached out and touched her hand. "I will change."

Max just smiled and placed her free hand above his. It was all she needed to do to let him know that he was forgiven. In truth, she had forgiven him days ago, but she knew that he needed some sort of acknowledgement of that fact. The drama of that night one week ago had been worth it. She really hadn't been prepared for the confessional nature of his apology. The part about his childhood had intrigued her. She tried to picture Logan as a kid living his life like that. It explained his unwavering sense of right and wrong. She figured it was what allowed him to create Eyes Only, but it probably also made him the family outcast. She realized then that she knew so little about the man's childhood. She suddenly had an overwhelming desire to understand where he came from so that she knew why he was the way he was. Maybe his issues weren't just about the chair.

They started to really talk, and as the verbal intimacy level rose, Max's thoughts began to plague her. /I want him here with me, not over there in the chair. Maybe I can just will him to move to the bed. Heh-heh…I should just pull him over…no, he'll probably freak out and say he has to go or something. Why do I always have to be the one to start things. He'll never ask after just having apologized. To much pride to ask to be near me. Oh screw it…I'm gonna make it hard for him to run this time./ Finally, deciding that she wanted to be closer to him, Max took action. While Logan was still talking, she stood up, walked behind the wheelchair, and pushed it closer to the bed.

"What are you doing" he said as his eyes followed her.

"Making it easier for you to climb on the bed," she said as she set the breaks on the chair.

"Now?"

"Relax…I just decided that I wanted to sit with you that's all."

At first Logan hesitated at her request. He had spent the last few months wishing for the scene before him, and now that it was happening, in classic Logan Cale style, he found himself conflicted. He knew he would never have been able to ask her to climb onto his bed for a chat. It would have been awkward and he never wanted it to seem like he was trying to take emotional advantage of her. Max had to be the one to ask for more intimacy. He knew she eventually would, and when she did, he would have to be ready to act on it. He just never thought it would be so soon. But, after a few more seconds of consideration, he realized that when it came to Max, he was just going to have to throw himself into most things. It was part of the promise he had made to himself. So, he accepted her offer and climbed onto the old bed, lied down next to her, and continued to talk.

For the most part she listened to him talk about his childhood and the things he used to do and how he loved his mother. Every once in a while she would ask him questions about things that he did that she didn't understand. She had many problems adapting to some of the things normal kids did when she was confronted with them after the escape. She didn't really understand other children and the joy they felt when they played games.

Max on schedule got hungry in the middle of the afternoon and insisted on making a late lunch. There was only peanut butter and jelly in the apartment so she made sandwiches. She was a little embarrassed by the lack of food she had to offer. He didn't care. He just laughed at told her that the sandwiches didn't make them even where cooking was concerned.

--

"So, what does yellow mean?"

"Excuse me?"

"The flowers. White was the intimate secret. So, what's yellow?"

"Oh, well yellow is…for friendship. I wasn't sure where we stood so I went with the safe bet." /Good she smiled. She's not disappointed in their meaning. Wait…is this all she wants now./

"What about the other colors?"

"Well, red is for love and respect and pink is for romance."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, white, red, pink, yellow- those are the basics."

Max stared at the ceiling thinking about the meaning. /He can't really think we're still only at friendship. He reads women so badly!/

--

A few hours later, Logan looked out of Max's window and realized it was almost dark. He knew he would have to leave soon because things had become too comfortable in her room. They were lying next to each other on the same bed having just made up from a week of fighting. Even though this was Max and they had never done anything physical, he couldn't help but think of Max as he remembered what happened with Valerie when they fought hard and then made up. But nothing had been discussed between he and Max, and quite frankly, he just wasn't mentally or physically ready to be intimate with her. He needed more time to figure out what that meant for him so he prepared to leave. "It's late, I should probably go now," he said in a controlled tone as he lifted his body and moved toward the edge of the bed. She rolled onto her side to face him, confused by his sudden desire to flee.

"Yeah…you should probably go," she said reluctantly in a whisper as she gently tapped her index finger against her lips. She moved closer to him. She didn't want him to go but couldn't think of a reason for him to stay.

"I…I mean, I've been here a while and…well…it looks like rain"

"Yeah…all afternoon…Seattle and rain- go figure," she said as she rolled slightly to face him repositioning her hips in his direction. She continued to think of reasons for him to stay. All plausible excuses rushed through her head, but nothing seemed right. By this time, Logan was ready for the transfer from the bed to his chair and just as he was about to move, Max in a last ditch effort grabbed his hand and pulled him back. That simple act set into motion something she wasn't sure she could finish but was already too committed to stop herself. She looked into his eyes and without breaking contact, pressed his hand firmly against her warm bare skin. "You can touch me," she said suddenly giving him permission to do what he had wanted to since she could remember. She swallowed silently, her nervousness making her throat dry. She was trapped in the moment by her actions and the anxiety that she felt caused her to become dizzy. She had missed him, and wanted him, but she was afraid. They hadn't discussed any of the potential hazards, so all of her fears form a week earlier were still firmly engrained. She was running the risk of ruining all the progress they had made simply because she couldn't just ask him to stay.

Logan slowly began to move his hand against the flesh of her perfect belly. After a few minutes of exploration, she took his hand and brought it up to her lips letting his fingertips run over them. She then guided his hand back down to her stomach making certain they lightly brushed her breast through her shirt. She was on a path that there seemed to be no escape from. Each point of contact her body had with Logan became aroused, especially when he returned to her belly lightly brushing his fingertips around her navel. A battle raged in her head between the part of her that wanted to abandon all restraint and part that was desperate to keep control. She feared the former would prevail, much to Logan's physical detriment.

A shudder ran through his body as she moved his hand higher beneath her shirt. He had almost convinced himself that he could feel it in his toes. He continued to move higher until he could feel the curve of her breasts.

She knew it was unfair the way she ambushed him and she wanted to stop, but she felt he might see it as a rejection. In her eyes, everything about him was still fragile—his body, his ego. It wasn't that she didn't want him, it was simply that her mind was not ready to control or handle what her body was about to do. In the end, her heart was pounding so hard she shivered with a mixture of anticipation and unbridled fear.

Had Logan not stopped, a mistake would have been made. Neither was ready. Getting over his pity was one thing, but being ready and capable, of being with her, was something he hadn't tackled. Not to mention the fact that he was touching the woman he loved, and her body was shivering, but it wasn't a shiver of excitement---it was fear. The entire situation was obviously wrong so he pulled his hand away and pulled his body closer to her. He gently pushed her onto her side and held her tight. And there, with her body flush against his, he whispered to into her ear, "I need more time to figure this out." Her heart was still racing. He buried his head in her hair and took a deep breath. "And Max…you never need to do this…you never need a reason to ask me to stay." Her heartbeat slowed.

Max let out a deep sigh of relief. She could still feel his heart pounding even as he spoke. "I do want you," she said slightly embarrassed by her pathetic and scared attempt at seduction. She was conflicted. Her body wanted to force the issue but her mind wanted to stop. She finally decided to quiet her body's desire. /Control! Get yourself under control!/ "…but I shouldn't have done that," she continued as her body slowly gave in to the defeat. She remained quiet but still ached for him so she pulled closer and wrapped her legs around his. There, with every curve of her body resting against him, they fell asleep.

--

Max woke to Logan staring at her. Their bodies had shifted and she was now facing him. She looked into his eyes. /My God…this man made me lose complete control of myself. I'm not even in heat. All this because I wanted him to stay with me. I do want him…I just don't want to hurt him in any way. I mean what if I really got carried away and hurt him. Made the damage permanent. I don't want to…/

"Max…" he began softly, but hesitated as though he didn't seem to know what words would come next. At that moment, the lights in the apartment and all over the city went out and they were in another blackout. Max was relieved by the sudden change. The faltering in his voice had worried her, and so to avoid the uncomfortable situation, she jumped out of bed.

"I'm gonna go grab some candles," she began before he could say anything else. "I'll be right back." She left the room and returned a minute later carrying a few candles. She arranged them around the room and began to light them. /Is he freaked out by the way I acted. It was too much for him to take in stride. No he understood me…he understood it all. He's just like me. He can't ask me to just stay either that's why he gets it./ She finally got to the candles on her bureau and lit them. She stood in front of the tiny flames and without turning back to face Logan said, "you know, the same goes for you too."

"What," he asked confused by the randomness of her statement.

"You don't always need to cook dinner or have some Eyes Only mission to get me to come over." She finally turned back to him waiting for some sort of response.

"Come here," he said as he moved to let her lay where his body had kept the bed warm. She smiled feeling more reassured and climbed back in. When she was settled, she began to brush her hand against his cheek.

"Thank You."

"For what," he asked as he placed his hand over hers.

"For a lot…for stopping. I probably wouldn't have for a lot of reasons…but it wasn't right. I was out of control and when I get like that I'm afraid I could hurt you. I don't wanna hurt you. I hate being scared, I'm completely useless." She couldn't read his face. "But, I now know exactly how much I missed you." He smiled.

"Max…its just for now. I don't want you to always need to control yourself. I hate that you think you can't really be free because of my situation. I promise that will change. I want you to feel things without worrying about me…and without feeling guilty about putting yourself first."

"You really don't understand."

"Yeah… I do. Max, you won't hurt me." He kissed the palm of her hand and then brought it down to her hip and pinned it firmly against her body. "Do you think that I haven't had to deal with sexually charged women before," he said mischievously. "I'm still in one piece." The comment forced Max to roll her eyes and shake her head. "Genetically revved up or not, I could've stopped you from attacking me. Now heat could be interesting with you. But Max…"

"Yes," she replied through her amusement at his comments.

"No means no." They both laughed light-heartedly.

"So," he said a few minutes later after the laughter had died down and they were once again lying in silence, "before, when we were talking about when I was younger, you told me you hadn't done a lot of things. I was just wondering, what was the one thing you wanted to do as a child that you never had the chance to do."

"I don't know- what a strange question."

"Think about it. When the Pulse hit, you're life changed again and a lot of children lost their childhoods. You never had one in the first place so you lost the chance twice. So what was the most frivolous thing that you had heard that kids did, but that you never had the chance to.

"I really don't know. I only spent a few months in a foster home. I guess coloring may be something. I never really saw a point to it. Same with water colors and drawing and all those things. They always seemed like a waste of time." Max turned her head in Logan's direction and found him somberly staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing…just thinking about the things I've taken for granted. I never really thought about the fact that you've never done the simple things like used crayons, or painted," he paused a moment, "and I'll bet you've never licked raw cookie dough from the bowl."

"No?!…why would I eat uncooked food?"

"Believe me, its one of the greatest things in the world. I'm convinced it should have been its own food group." He laughed when he saw her disgusted expression, "I'm really sorry that you haven't had some of those experiences. It was fun to just get lost in a different world as a child. You didn't have to worry about losing control because you didn't know you were supposed to have it. In fact, the kid who had the craziest ideas and got you into the most trouble and who was completely out of control, was usually the most revered…at least in the male world. Like I said, I'm just sorry you never felt that. I mean maybe if you had had the chance to lose control as a child, you wouldn't fear it so much now."

"Its not a problem Logan." His musings on her past, had made her uncomfortable. He could feel her emotional walls rise and her body tense slightly. "It is the way it is but I'm working on it. I'm still reasonably well adjusted --for a killing machine. I have friends and I have people who really care about me. I think I've managed quite well."

"Yes you have," he said and dropped the subject she obviously did not want to dwell upon. Logan looked out of her window and realized that it had begun to rain. He turned back and looked at her laying next to him. "God I'm sick of this weather aren't you."

"Logan, this is Seattle. I knew what I was getting into…well at least I thought I did," she said as she smiled at him.

"True but I can't wait until this rainy season ends."

"Yeah, I have to admit, it's been pretty bad."

"Max…" he began hesitantly, "what do you say about going up to my cabin the first sunny weekend we have?"

"Sounds nice. What will that be- a few months."

"Probably," he replied. A few moments later, his face dropped. "So…I have to ask…are we OK?"

"Yeah, were OK."

"Good. Can you tell Cindy because she threatened to kick my ass, and I'm a little worried."

"I'll take care of her. She may get an ass kicking from me for setting me up when you walked in."

"She was only looking out for her girl. Go easy on her 'boo'."

"Logan"

"Yes"

"Never again"

"OK," he said as they laughed. "I'll come up with my own nickname."

Logan stayed in her bed all night. Cindy came in at around two and looked into the room. Max opened her eyes to a smiling Cindy. She smiled and waved her away.

Please R&R. Let me know what you think.