Max stepped out of the shower and glanced around the bathroom. It was strange to be in somebody else's bathroom. She glanced over at the counter where she had thrown her clean clothes. She thought she might never be clean again. Her hair fell across her shoulders, steaming from the hot water. She toweled it off quickly. The mirror was covered in condensed steam, which was beginning to fade away. Drops of water ran down and left clear tracks. She stared at her face in the mirror. She was beginning to look more like herself, less tired. The shower probably didn't hurt, either. After leaving the hospital, Max convinced Logan to go by her place to pick up some things. She picked up the bottle of Tryptophan she had brought then shook out a few tablets, chewing them. Their chalky taste spread through her mouth and she choked back a gag. They must have been giving me something at Manticore she thought, to keep them down - but now it's going away… She set the bottle back down again and pulled on her clothes, running her fingers through her warm, damp hair. She walked out into Logan's apartment. Logan and Chris sat on the couch, deep in discussion.
"Hey," she said. They looked up. "Your turn," she said to Chris, then went and took Chris's vacated spot.
"So," Logan said.
"Sooo," she replied.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm clean, finally, so I'm better than fine. I might even be called good. Why does everybody keep asking me that?"
"This is a big deal, what just happened."
"Nah," she said lightly.
"Don't brush this off."
"I guess it could be considered a big deal. But forget, move on. You know? So can you help Chris?"
"Yeah. Nice guy."
"I'll say. A little…spontaneous."
"You could say that. He just bolted with you guys? Randomly?"
"Pretty much."
"He safe?"
"Yeah. As safe as they come, at least. You're not going to go all freaky-security on me, are you?"
"Well, I didn't last time, and look what happened."
"That wasn't your fault."
"I got you the stuff to go."
"Why does everybody want the blame? Eva's trying to convince me it's her fault."
Logan nodded. "So you really are okay with this?"
"No. But I will be."
"So Ruth was…"
"A stranger, basically. She had nothing to do with any of it. Just another lackey wrapped around Lydecker's little finger - doing what he wanted."
"And nobody knew?"
"If by nobody you mean Eva, then… she didn't know. Deck's a master at deception, keeping secrets. He was the only one that knew everything. Th best way to get people to convince others is to get them to believe it themselves."
"Eva's family?"
"They think she's adopted. She thought they were her real family, but I guess she knows now."
"How."
"She overheard me and Lydecker talking, I think."
"Talking?"
"Yeah."
"You think he was telling the truth?"
Max paused and stared into the distance, then said dejectedly, "Yes. He didn't have anything to lose. He thought he had me - for good."
"Did he say anything else?"
"Yeah." Max didn't offer the information.
"Chris says he said something about your mother."
"Yeah. He said she begged for mercy, really horrible stuff like that."
"You already knew that."
"Yeah. And he said she liked to flirt, and she liked green silk." Max's eyes glazed slightly.
"Wonder how he knew that."
"I don't know. Probably just from seeing her around the base. You know, before…"
"Yeah."
"So what were you and Chris talking about?"
"What to do with him. Canada, I think we decided."
"Good."
"I better go down to JamPony. You know, see if I still have my job."
"Then?"
"Then, I guess I'll go home. Chris gonna hole up with you for a bit?"
"Yeah."
"Well, bye then."
"Bye."
He watched her go.
